Is there a correlation between bullying and suicide?

In recognition of Suicide Prevention Month, Dr. Annie Abram and Dr. Matthew Wintersteen will discuss the disturbingly high rate of suicide, the third cause of death, among young people. What causes a young person to take his/her life? In the rise of cyberbullying a correlation between this phenomena and suicide is often made. Does empirical research validate this “hypothesis’? Dr. Wintersteen will address this concern as well as others.

Matthew B. Wintersteen, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor and Director of Research in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University/Jefferson Medical College. Dr. Wintersteen is the Principal Investigator of a campus suicide prevention project designed to increase awareness about suicide, educate students and faculty, enhance linkages to services, and promote healthy behaviors.

Dr. Wintersteen was on a national task force sponsored by the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) to develop Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk in Primary Care (RRSR-PC), a suicide prevention training program for primary care providers.

Most recently, Dr. Wintersteen organized, participated, and moderated a panel of national and international experts on youth suicide tasked with developing an empiricially-informed list of warning signs for youth suicide.