The connection between cyberbullying and suicide has been documented in research for years. What has remained less understood is the mechanism behind it — specifically, what happens internally in the minds of young people involved in cyberbullying, either as perpetrators or victims, that elevates their risk of suicidal ideation.

A study published in BMC Psychiatry in February 2024, co-authored by Souheil Hallit of the Psychology Department at Effat University‘s College of Humanities, offers new insight into that question. The research, conducted as part of the PEARLS project — a binational cross-cultural study across Lebanon and Tunisia — examined whether psychotic experiences act as a mediating factor in the relationship between cyberbullying and suicidal thoughts in healthy young adults.

What the Study Found

The research surveyed 3,103 healthy community participants from Lebanon between June and September 2022, with a mean age of 21.73 years and 63.6% female. None had a self-reported history of mental illness or antipsychotic medication use. In total, 18.8% of participants reported experiencing suicidal ideation.

The study focused on psychotic experiences — subclinical symptoms such as unusual perceptions and distorted thinking that can occur in otherwise healthy individuals — as a potential mediating factor. Participants were assessed using validated measurement tools for cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, suicidal ideation, and positive and negative psychotic experiences.

The findings were significant. Both positive and negative psychotic experiences partially mediated the relationship between cyberbullying — whether as a perpetrator or a victim — and suicidal ideation. In other words, involvement in cyberbullying was associated with greater psychotic experiences, and more severe psychotic experiences were in turn associated with higher levels of suicidal ideation. The direct association between cyberbullying and suicidal ideation was also confirmed, independent of the mediation effect.

Why This Matters for Prevention

The research points to an important implication for suicide prevention programs. Reducing cyberbullying itself, while a worthwhile goal, is increasingly difficult in a fully digitalized world. Identifying and addressing the internal psychological factors that amplify suicide risk in individuals exposed to cyberbullying may offer a more practical intervention target.

The study calls for a holistic approach in suicide prevention — one that accounts for both external environmental factors, such as bullying behavior, and internal individual factors, such as attenuated psychotic symptoms. School counselors and decision-makers are specifically encouraged to screen for subclinical psychotic symptoms in young people who are involved in cyberbullying and who show signs of suicidal ideation.

The researchers also highlight the importance of evidence-based cyberbullying intervention programs — covering communication skills, digital citizenship, empathy training, and coping strategies — as tools that can reduce suicide risk in affected young people.

Regional Context

The study adds a dimension that is particularly relevant to the Middle East and North Africa region, where suicide rates are considered to be significantly underreported due to cultural stigma, and where cyberbullying among adolescents and young adults has grown substantially alongside expanding digital access.

The researchers acknowledge the study’s limitations — primarily its cross-sectional design, which means causality cannot be confirmed — and call for future longitudinal research in larger and more diverse samples to build on these findings.

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