Adolescent Bullying Victimization at Secondary School and Adult Suicidality and Depressive Symptoms Among 2152 Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in South Korea

Jooyoung Park, Hyemin Lee, Bokyoung Choi, Ji Hwan Kim, Jaehong Yoon, Horim Yi, Sungsub Choo, Seung Sup Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study examined the association between adolescent bullying victimization (ABV) and adult mental health among lesbian,gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals in South Korea (hereafter Korea). We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 2152 KoreanLGB adults in 2016. Based on experiences of and reasons for ABV, participants were categorized into four groups: “never bullied,” “bullied due to sexual orientation and gender expression (SOGE),” “bullied due to other reasons,” and “bullied, reason unspecified.” Compared with participants who have never been bullied during adolescence, those who have been “bullied due to SOGE” were 1.56 times, 1.53 times, and 3.59 times more likely to report depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, respectively. Statistically significant associations with all three mental health indicators were also observed among those who have been “bullied due to other reasons”: depressive symptoms (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 1.72), suicidal ideation (aPR = 1.48), and suicide attempts (aPR = 3.15). This study suggests that ABV may increasedepressive symptoms and suicidality in adulthood among LGB individuals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)338-345
Number of pages8
JournalAsia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
Volume34
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022 May

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank the members of the LGBTAIQP Suicide Prevention Project Connect-your-hearts of Chingusai for their assistance in survey development and participant recruitment. The authors also thank LGB individuals who participated in the study. This study was presented by Jooyoung Park, the co-first author, at the American Public Health Association’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo (“Adolescent Victimization of Anti-gay Bullying Is Related to Adulthood Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation Among LGB in South Korea: A Life-Course Perspective Approach”). The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was in part supported by the Korean Gay Men’s Human Rights Group Chingusai and the Beautiful Foundation. This work was also supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education (2020R1A6A3A13060799).

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was in part supported by the Korean Gay Men’s Human Rights Group Chingusai and the Beautiful Foundation. This work was also supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education (2020R1A6A3A13060799).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 APJPH.

Keywords

  • LGB
  • South Korea
  • bullying victimization
  • depressive symptoms
  • sexual minority
  • suicidality

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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