Journal of School Violence

ISSN: 1538-8220 (Print) 1538-8239 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjsv20

Doing Nothing is Sometimes Worse: Comparing

Avoidant versus Approach Coping Strategies
with Peer Victimization and Their Association to
Depression and Suicide Ideation

Joy Benatov, Anat Brunstein Klomek, Barzilay Shira, Alan Apter, Vladimir
Carli, Camilla Wasserman, Christina W. Hoven, Marco Sarchiapone, Juit
Balazs, Julio Bobes, Romuald Brunner, Paul Corcoran, Doina Cosman,
Christian Haring, Jean-Pierre Kahn, Helen Keeley, Agnes Kereszteny, Tina
Podlogar, Vita Postuvan, Pilar A. Saiz, Merike Sisask, Airi Varnik & Danuta
Wasserman

To cite this article: Joy Benatov, Anat Brunstein Klomek, Barzilay Shira, Alan Apter, Vladimir
Carli, Camilla Wasserman, Christina W. Hoven, Marco Sarchiapone, Juit Balazs, Julio Bobes,
Romuald Brunner, Paul Corcoran, Doina Cosman, Christian Haring, Jean-Pierre Kahn, Helen
Keeley, Agnes Kereszteny, Tina Podlogar, Vita Postuvan, Pilar A. Saiz, Merike Sisask, Airi Varnik
& Danuta Wasserman (2020): Doing Nothing is Sometimes Worse: Comparing Avoidant versus
Approach Coping Strategies with Peer Victimization and Their Association to Depression and
Suicide Ideation, Journal of School Violence, DOI: 10.1080/15388220.2020.1738941

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2020.1738941

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JOURNAL OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE
https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2020.1738941

Doing Nothing is Sometimes Worse: Comparing Avoidant versus

Approach Coping Strategies with Peer Victimization and Their
Association to Depression and Suicide Ideation
Joy Benatov, PhDa,b, Anat Brunstein Klomek, PhDc, Barzilay Shira, PhDd, Alan Apter, MDd,e,
Vladimir Carli, MD, PhDf, Camilla Wasserman, PhDf,g, Christina W. Hoven, MD, PhDg,
Marco Sarchiapone, MDh, Juit Balazs, MD, PhDi, Julio Bobes, MD, PhDj, Romuald Brunner,
MDk, Paul Corcoran, PhDl, Doina Cosman, MD, PhDm, Christian Haring, MD, PhDn, Jean-
Pierre Kahn, MD, PhDo, Helen Keeley, MDp, Agnes Kereszteny, PhDi, Tina Podlogar, PhDq,
Vita Postuvan, PhDq, Pilar A. Saiz, MD, PhDj, Merike Sisask, PhD r, Airi Varnik, MD, PhDr,
and Danuta Wasserman, MD, PhDf
a
University of Haifa, Special Education, Haifa, Israel; bCollege of Management and Academic Studies, Psychology,
Rishon-Lezion, Israel; cInterdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), Psychology, Herzliya, Israel; dFeinberg Child Study
Centre, Schneider Children’s Medical Centre, Psychiatry, Petah-Tikva; eTel Aviv University, Psychiatry, Tel Aviv, Israel;
f
National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP), Karolinska Institute, Stockholm,
Sweden; gColumbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY, USA; hUniversity of Molise, Health Sciences,
Molise, Italy; iLorand University, Psychology, Budapest, Hungary; jUniversity of Oviedo, Psychiatry, Oviedo, Spain;
k
University of Heidelberg, Psychiatry, Heidelberg, Germany; lAddiction help services B.I.N., Mental Health, Innsbruck,
Austria; mUniversity of Medicine and Pharmacy, Psychology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; nUniversity for Medical
Information Technology (UMIT), Mental Health, Innsbruck, Austria; oFondation Santé des Etudiants de France,
Clinique FSEF de Vitry le François., France; pMallow Primary Healthcare Centre, Ireland; qUniversity of Primorska,
Koper, Slovenia; rTallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Peer victimization is a major stressor adolescents often face in the school environ- Received 17 June 2019
ment, and has been linked to depression and suicidal risk. This study analyzed the Accepted 28 February 2020
associations between three behavioral coping strategies (avoidance, seeking
KEYWORDS
social support from adults/peers, and retaliation) and depression and suicidal Coping; peer-victimization;
ideation. Participants included 4,254 victimized students who were part of the depression; suicide ideation;
Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) study that compared SEYLE
three school-based prevention interventions and collected information on health
risk behaviors in adolescents from 11 European countries. Results showed beha-
vioral avoidance to be associated with an increase in levels of depression, as
compared to the other coping strategies (adult social support, peer social support,
retaliation). Seeking social support from adults was associated with lower depres-
sion and suicidal ideation rates. A more than 25% increase in suicidal ideation was
associated with behavioral avoidance, compared to seeking social support from
adults. By contrast, retaliation to peer victimization was not found to be associated
with increased depression or suicidal ideation. The findings support the Coping
Deficit model and may suggest that abstaining by doing nothing when victimized
can be associated with certain adverse emotional outcomes.

Introduction
Accumulating evidence suggests that peer victimization poses a major risk to children’s and
adolescents’ mental health (e.g., Biebl et al., 2011). Peer victimization may lead to internalizing
difficulties for victims such as depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, avoidance, somatization and

CONTACT Joy Benatov jbentov2@gmail.com College of Management and Academic Studies, Elie Wiesel St. 2, Rishon, Israel
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 J. BENATOV ET AL.

suicidal ideation and behavior (e.g., Camodeca et al., 2002; Copeland et al., 2013; Grills & Ollendick,
2002; Van Geel et al., 2014).
The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (Joiner, 2005) provides a theoretical lens that may shed light
on the putative associations between peer victimization and suicide ideation. Joiner’s theory posits
that suicide ideation, which is often proceeded by depression, stems from thwarted belongingness
and a sense of being a burden on one’s social environment (Joiner, 2005; Joiner et al., 2009). Peer
victimization is a clear case of failed social belonging, and has been associated with a sense of
loneliness (Hawker & Boulton, 2000) and a flawed sense of belonging to the peer group (Holt &
Espelage, 2003). Since schools constitute children’s chief social environment outside the family,
their experiences with peers at school and their sense of belonging to the school are critical to
predicting depression and suicide ideation/behavior (Marraccini & Brier, 2017; Millings et al.,
2012).
Engaging in effective coping strategies when victimized can potentially attenuate the adverse
effects of peer victimization (Machmutow et al., 2012). In their seminal work, Lazarus and Folkman
defined coping as “constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external
and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person”
(Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 104). Compas et al. (2001) expanded the construct of coping to include
a developmental perspective. They considered coping to be part of a broader self-regulatory process
that evolves as a function of development, and defined coping as “conscious and volitional efforts to
regulate emotion, cognition, behavior, physiology, and the environment in response to stressful
events or circumstances” (Compas et al., 2001). Different classifications of coping strategies have
been suggested in the literature (Compas et al., 2001) including active versus avoidant coping, or
emotion focused versus problem solving strategies.
Although peer victimization is a major stressor children often face in their school environment
(Newman et al., 2005), relatively few studies have evaluated the association between coping efforts in
response to peer victimization and the victims’ internalizing difficulties (Davidson & Demaray, 2007;
Kochenderfer-Ladd & Skinner, 2002; Machmutow et al., 2012; Visconti & Troop-Gordon, 2010). In
the specific context of peer victimization, three main behavioral coping strategies have been outlined
in previous studies: an avoidant response, seeking social support, and retaliation (Tapper & Boulton,
2005; Visconti & Troop-Gordon, 2010). Below, we review each coping tactic and its links with
depression and suicide ideation/behavior.

Avoidance response
Avoidance strategies usually include the behavioral response of walking away, ignoring the aggressor,
and cognitively distancing oneself by using distraction aimed at avoiding thoughts about the
victimization events. Most studies examining the relationship between avoidant coping and depres-
sion or suicide risk have found avoidant coping to be a maladaptive coping strategy associated with
increased depression (Herman-Stabl et al., 1995; Holahan et al., 2005; Seiffge-Krenke & Klessinger,
2000). However, there is still controversy as to its association with suicidal ideation and suicide
attempts. Some studies have reported that avoidant coping is associated with suicidal ideation
(Asarnow et al., 1987; Kirchner et al., 2011; Marusic & Goodwin, 2006; Pienaar et al., 2007;
Wasserman et al., 2010) and suicide attempts (Mathew & Nanoo, 2013) whereas other have not
(Horwitz et al., 2011; Kidd & Carroll, 2007). One study in fact reported avoidant coping to be
inversely associated with suicide ideation and attempts (Wang et al., 2007).
Studies examining the association between avoidant coping in response to victimization events
and internalizing difficulties have yielded inconsistent results as well. Kochenderfer-Ladd and
Skinner (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Skinner, 2002) found that boys exposed to high levels of victimiza-
tion who engaged in cognitive distancing reported greater anxious-depressed symptoms, but this link
was not found among victimized girls. Two more recent studies found that behavioral avoidance
(Visconti & Troop-Gordon, 2010) and cognitive distancing (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Skinner, 2002)
 JOURNAL OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE 3

were not predictive of internalizing difficulties after victimization events. However, two studies
examining cyberbullying victims’ emotional adjustment found avoidant coping strategies to be
associated with increased depression (Völlink, Bolman, Dehue, et al., 2013; Völlink, Bolman,
Eppingbroek, et al., 2013)

Seeking social support

Seeking social support in the current context refers to turning to one’s social network (adults or
peers) for comfort or advice when victimized. Social support is considered a fundamental coping
resource when encountering any type of difficulty. Studies on social support in the context of peer
victimization have mainly shown that social support from both adults and peers has a protective
function as regards internalizing distress and suicide risk among victims (Barzilay et al., 2017;
Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004; Machmutow et al., 2012). For instance, Hodges and colleagues found
that having a mutual best friend attenuated the association between victimization and internalizing
behaviors (Hodges et al., 1999). Another study indicated that social support from a teacher or
classmate moderated the relationship between victimization and internalizing distress for males,
whereas parental support had this effect for females (Davidson & Demaray, 2007). Having a wider
network of social ties to turn to in case of victimization may help regain a sense of belonging.
Surprisingly, in one study conducted by Visconti and Troop-Gordon (Visconti & Troop-Gordon,
2010) seeking social support was predictive of increased internalizing difficulties. Authors suggest
that perhaps in some cases “talking to others may lead to emotion-focused coping encompassing
dwelling on problems without directly altering the stressful situation and resulting in greater
negative affect” (p. 268).

Retaliation
A retaliation response stems from the desire to avenge and is concretized by causing harm to the
perpetrator to “get back” at him/her. The association between retaliation and internalizing tenden-
cies and depression in particular is unclear. Kochenderfer-Ladd, (Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004) suggests
that this strategy might lead to increased depressive symptoms given its association with future
victimization. However, studies have not found revenge seeking in the wake of victimization
incidents to be associated with depression or anxiety (Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004; Visconti & Troop-
Gordon, 2010). These inconsistent results may be due to the fact that revenge can cover a range of
tactics that differ in intensity, timing and form (social, physical or verbal).
In sum, there is little consensus as to which coping strategies are adaptive or maladaptive with
regards to depression brought on by peer victimization. To the best of our knowledge, no study has
examined the associations between victims’ behavioral coping strategies and suicidal ideation.
The current study aimed to fill this gap by comparing the main behavioral coping strategies with
peer victimization identified in previous studies (Tapper & Boulton, 2005; Visconti & Troop-
Gordon, 2010). Seeking social support from adults and peers was differentiated in the current
study; hence four coping strategies were evaluated: (1) avoidant response, (2) social support from
adults, (3) social support from peers, (4) retaliation. Depression and suicidal ideation were measured
as outcome variables. Victimization levels, gender, age, being an immigrant, losing a parent and
having a parent lose his or her job during the past year were surveyed as well and used as control
variables.
Our mains hypothesis was that adolescents who implement avoidant coping strategies when
victimized are likely to report more depressive symptoms and be at a greater risk of experiencing
suicidal ideation than adolescents employing adult social support, peer social support and/or
retaliation. Specifically, we predicted that adolescents seeking social support from either adults or
peers when victimized would be more likely to report fewer depressive symptoms and would be at
lower risk of experiencing suicidal ideation than adolescents employing avoidant strategies or
4 J. BENATOV ET AL.

retaliation. We assumed these patterns would emerge even after accounting for victimization levels
and background variables. Thus, avoidant coping was expected to be predictive of elevated depres-
sion levels and increased risk of suicidal ideation compared to the remaining coping strategies after
accounting for victimization levels and background variables On the other hand, seeking social
support from adults and peers was expected to be predictive of lower depression and decreased risk
of suicide ideation than the other coping strategies.

Method
The data were collected as part of the Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE)
study. The SEYLE was a cluster randomized controlled trial (German Clinical Trials Register
DRKS00000214) which evaluated the efficacy of school-based prevention interventions for suicidal
behavior. Eleven EU countries took part in the SEYLE study, including Austria, Estonia, France,
Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Romania, Slovenia and Spain, with Sweden, the National
Center for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP) at the Karolinska Institute
as the coordinating center. The full protocol of the study, sampling methods, characteristics of the
sample and ethics, and emergency case issues have all been published (see Carli et al., 2013;
Wasserman et al., 2010, 2015). All sites had local ethics committee approval.

Participants
The SEYLE participants were drawn from 168 schools. Schools were considered eligible if they were
public, had an enrollment of at least 40 15- year old students, had more than two teachers for
students aged 15, and no more than 60% of the students were of the same gender. Of the 232 schools
approached, 72% agreed to take part. The schools in the present study were from the 11 study sites
representative of their respective countries including Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden (for a more detailed description of the
sampling methods and sample composition, see Carli et al., 2013). The entire SEYLE sample totaled
11,110 students. The current study focused on victims and was comprised of 5,216 students who
reported experiencing at least one form of peer victimization in the past year. The mean age was
15.14 (SD = 5.06), and 58.8% were female.

Measures
Participants were administered a self-report survey in their classrooms. As part of a larger ques-
tionnaire, the students were asked about peer victimization and students who reported being
victimized were asked what their predominant response to these incidents had been. The primary
study outcomes of interest were suicidal ideation and depression. For purposes of this study, baseline
data were analyzed.

Peer-victimization
Assessed using 12 yes/no questions from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (WHO,
2018) about various types of victimization that had occurred often in the previous 12 months. The
items addressed three different types of victimization: physical (e.g., “others pushed, hit, or kicked
you”), verbal (e.g., “others called you names”), and relational (e.g., “others spread rumors about
you”). For each type of victimization, a total score was computed, and if it was greater than one, the
student was considered to be a victim of peer victimization. An overall sum of all types of
victimization was calculated as well (Brunstein Klomek et al., 2016).
 JOURNAL OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE 5

Behavioral coping strategies with peer victimization

Students’ responses to peer victimization was evaluated using a checklist developed by the SEYLE
group (Wasserman et al., 2010). The checklist was similar to the Behavioral Coping Response to
victimization measure used in previous research (Visconti & Troop-Gordon, 2010). The adolescents
were requested to select one coping strategy from the list that best described the way they reacted
when victimized during the previous 12 months. The list consisted of 13 behavioral reactions
reflecting the following four categories: (1) Behavioral avoidance was comprised of two behavioral
responses (“Did nothing”, “Walked away from there”). (2) Adults’ Social Support seeking included 4
responses (e.g., “talked to my Mom or Dad or both”, “talked to family relatives”, “talked to an adult
outside the family”, “asked an adult for help”). (3) Peers’ Social Support seeking included 2 responses
(“talked to a friend about it”, “asked someone my age for help”). (3) Retaliation responses included
three responses reflecting counter- aggression (“Hit back”, “Cursed back those who hurt me”, “Got
back at them afterward”). Two additional options were listed to cover responses that were not
specifically mentioned (“don’t know”, “none of the above”). These last two responses were not
included in the analysis. In cases where a participant checked more than one item, if all the responses
were within the same coping style category, the participant was included in that category. If
responses were from different categories, the case was excluded. There were only 3 such instances.
Suicidal ideation was assessed using two items from the Paykel Hierarchical Suicidal Ladder
(Paykel et al., 1974). Pupils were identified as having suicidal ideation if they answered: “sometimes,
often, very often, or always” to one or both of the following questions: “During the past 2 weeks,
have you considered taking your life, even if you wouldn’t go through with it?”; “During the past
2 weeks, have you reached the point where you seriously considered taking your life, or perhaps
made plans how you would go about doing it?”
Depression was assessed on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) (Beck et al., 1996). The BDI–
II is comprised of 21 self-report items rated on a scale of 0 to 3, assessing specific symptoms
experienced over the preceding 2 weeks (Beck et al., 1996). Mean scores were calculated to obtain
depression levels. Suggested cutoff scores for depression are 0–13 minimal, 14–19 mild, 20–28
moderate, and 29–63 severe (Beck et al., 1996). This measure has been found to be a reliable and
valid instrument for assessing depression symptoms in nonclinical and clinical samples of adoles-
cents (Canals et al., 2001; Krefetz et al., 2002). The Cronbach alpha for the present sample was.88.
Background variables relevant to depression and suicide ideation that were measured included
gender, age, immigration (Were you born in this country: yes/no), religiosity (Are you religious: yes/
no), loss of a parent in the past year (Did one or more of your parents die in the past year: yes/no)
and parents losing their job in the past year (Has one or both of your parents lost their job in the
past year: yes/no).

Data analysis
Missing data reached 2.8%. Rubin’s multiple imputation was used to fill in missing data. The final
analysis included 4,254 students. Descriptive statistics were calculated. A one- way ANOVA was used
to compare levels of depression between the behavioral copying categories, followed by LSD post-
hoc tests. A Chi Square test was conducted to compare the prevalence of suicidal ideation between
the categories of behavioral copying strategies, followed by Chi Square pairwise comparisons. To
avoid inflation of the Type I error, the significance level was adjusted using a familywise Bonferroni
correction. Finally, to test the comparison between avoidant/approach strategies with respect to
depression and suicidal ideation while taking victimization levels and background variables into
account, a linear regression model for the prediction of depression and a logistic regression model
for the prediction of suicidal ideation were conducted. The models included background variables
(age, gender, immigrant, religiosity, death of a parent in the last year, a parent losing his or her job
during the previous year, peer victimization levels (a continuous variable) and behavioral coping
6 J. BENATOV ET AL.

strategies as predictors. Because behavioral coping strategies are a categorical variable, they were
coded as dummy variables before they were entered into the regression models. The avoidant
response was chosen as the comparison category.

Results
The mean level of victimization reported by students was 2.42 (SD = 1.74). Adolescents reported on
average being a victim of 2–3 types of victimization, with “teasing” and “spreading rumors” the most
common forms. There were gender differences in the prevalence of victimization within the
categorial types of victimization, in that girls more frequently reported being a victim of physical,
verbal and relational victimization (see Table 1). However, the total score of peer-victimization for
girls and boys did not differ, given that boys reported more intense victimization within each
category (see Table 1).
The most common behavioral copying strategy in response to peer victimization was seeking social
support from peers among females, and retaliation among males (see Table 2). It should be noted that
286 (5.4%) students checked “Don’t Know” and 673 (12.9%) chose “None of the above”, indicating
there are additional coping strategies that were not specified, and that some of the participants were
not sure of their predominant strategy. When peer victimization levels were compared across beha-
vioral copying strategies, no differences were found (F = 1.4; df = 4250, 3; p = .24).

Behavioral coping styles with peer victimization and depression

The mean level of depression as measured using the BDI-II was 10.04 (SD = 8.1); 74% of students
were within the minimal depression range (0–13), 13.6% reported mild depression (14–19), 8.7%
reported moderate depression and 3.7% were found to have severe depression.
Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics for depression levels across the four copying groups. As
can be seen, victims implementing avoidant behavioral reactions reported the highest levels of
depression compared to the other groups. By contrast, adolescents who turned to adults for social
support or retaliated when victimized reported the lowest levels of depression. Adolescents who
sought social support from peers reported intermediate levels of depression that were lower than the
group that adopted avoidant strategies but higher than adolescents seeking adult social support or
retaliation.

Table 1. Prevalence of victimization type by gender (N = 4,254).

Girls Boys
(n = 2,501) (n = 1,753) Overall (%)
Physical victimization (%) 52% 48% χ2(2) = 30.1*** 32.3%
Verbal victimization (%) 56% 44% χ2(2) = 31.04*** 73.6%
Relational victimization (%) 68.3% 31.7% χ2(2) = 218.7*** 56.5%
Total victimization score M (SD) 2.46 (1.73) 2.36 (1.75) t(4,235) = 1.68
R:1-12
* p <.05, ** p <.01, *** p <.001

Table 2. Pervasiveness of behavioral coping strategies by gender.

Gender
Behavioral Coping Strategy Total Female Male
(N = 4,254) (n = 2,501) (n = 1,753)
Social Support Adults (%) 965 (22.7%) 635 (25.4%) 330 (18.8%)
Social Support Peers (%) 1,052 (24.7%) 786 (31.5%) 266 (12.9%)
Retaliation (%) 1,559 (36.6%) 697 (27.9%) 862 (49.2%)
Avoidance (%) 661 (15.5%) 372 (14.9%) 289 (16.5%)
Table 3. Comparison of depression levels and suicide ideation prevalence across coping strategies (n = 4,254).
Social Support Adult Social Support Peer Retaliation Avoidance Statistic Partial Eta square Post-hoc comparisons
Depression M (SD)
Total 9.52 (7.94) 10.42 (7.67) 9.42 (7.61) 11.76 (9.8) 15.06(3,4250)*** .02 A> SSP>SSA, R
Girls 9.99 (7.84) 11.18 (7.99) 11.88 (7.99) 13.78 (10.38) 16.94 (3,2471)*** .02 A> SSP, R > SSA
Boys 8.41 (7.64) 8.24 (6.31) 7.41 (6.63) 9.06 (8.22) 4.56 (3, 1,726)*** .01 A> SSA, SSP > R
Suicide Ideation N (%)
Total Yes 105 (10.8%) 147 (13.9%) 168 (10.7%) 94 (14.2%) χ2 = 10.30*
No 864 (89.2%) 908 (86.1%) 1399 (89.3%) 569 (85.8%)
Girls Yes 67 (10.6%) 122 (15.5%) 111 (15.9%) 69 (18.5%) χ2 = 14.25**
No 568 (89.4%) 664 (84.5%) 586 (84.1%) 303 (81.5%)
Boys Yes 38 (11.5%) 25 (9.4%) 57 (6.6%) 27 (9.3%) χ2 = 8.18*
No 292 (88.5%) 241 (90.6%) 805 (93.4%) 262 (90.7)
SSA – Social Support Adult, SSP – Social Support Peer, R – Retaliation, A – Avoidance. *p <.05 ** p <.01 *** p <.001.
Chi square analysis were significant at p <.05 however it should be noted that effect sizes were small.
JOURNAL OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE
7
8 J. BENATOV ET AL.

Table 4. Hierarchical linear regression model predicting depression (n = 4,254).

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
B SE ß B SE ß B SE ß
Gender −.04 .02 −.03 −.03 .02 −.03 −.03 .02 −.02
Age .03 .03 .02 .03 .03 .02 .03 .03 .02
Immigrant .39 .48 .02 .63 .46 .02 .65 .45 .02
Religiosity −.68 .25 −.04** −.37 .24 −.02 −.39 .24 −.02
Parental Death 1.76 .28 .10*** 1.53 .27 .08*** 1.52 .26 .08***
Parental Job Loss 1.52 .38 .06*** .89 .36 .04* .90 .37 .04*
Peer Victimization 1.39 .07 .29*** 1.38 .07 .29***
Adults’ Social Support −2.05 .38 −.11***
Peers’ Social Support −1.12 .38 −.06**
Retaliation −2.13 .36 −.13**
Adjusted R2 0.01 0.9 0.11
F10,4202 11.32*** 69.58*** 53.53***
* p <.05 ** p <.01 *** p <.001.

Table 4 shows the regression model predicting depression. In the final step, significant predictors
of depression including a parent’s death and job loss, victimization level and coping were entered.
Seeking support from adults, peers and retaliation were associated with lower depression levels
(adult social support: ß = − .11; p < .001; peer social support: ß = − .06; p < .01; retaliation: ß = − .13;
p < .01) than avoidant coping (see Table 4). The total model accounted for 11.5% of the variance
(F10,4202 = 53.53, p < .001).

Behavioral coping styles with peer victimization and suicidal ideation

Suicidal ideation prevalence among the four coping groups are presented in Table 3. The analysis
indicated overall significant differences in the prevalence of suicidal ideation between behavioral
copying categories (χ2 = 10.30, df = 3, p < .05). Specifically, the suicidal ideation prevalence rates
were 14.2% among adolescents using avoidant reactions, 10.8% among adolescents seeking adult
social support, 13.9% among adolescents seeking peer social support and 10.7% among those seeking
retaliation. Then, Chi Square pair-wise comparisons were conducted using a family-wise Bonferroni
correction to adjust the significance level which was set at 0.0062 (0.05/8). Pair-wise comparisons
were non-significant at this level.
In the regression model predicting suicidal ideation, being male was found to decrease the risk of
experiencing suicide ideation by almost half (see Table 5). Being religious was found to be
a protective factor that decreased the risk of experiencing suicide ideation by 24%. Losing a parent
in the past year and having a parent lose his or her job increased the risk of experiencing suicide
ideation by 48% and 26%, respectively. Levels of victimization were positively associated to suicide
ideation as well (OR = 1.26). In terms of coping categories, seeking social support from adults was

Table 5. Logistic regression model predicting suicide ideation (n = 4,254).

Suicide ideation
B SE OR 95%CI
Gender −.66*** .10 .52 .47–.64
Age .02 .01 1.03 1.01–1.05
Immigrant .32 .17 .61 .97–1.93
Religiosity −.27** .10 .76 .62–.93
Parental Death .39*** .10 1.48 1.2–1.8
Parental Job Loss .23* .14 1.26 .96–1.64
Peer Victimization .23*** .32 1.26 1.2–1.31
Adults’ Social Support −.30* .15 .73 .54–1.0
Peers’ Social Support −.08 .15 .92 .69–1.23
Retaliation −.23 .14 .79 .59–1.05
* p <.05 ** p <.01 *** p <.001.
 JOURNAL OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE 9

found to be associated with a 27% decrease in the risk of experiencing suicidal ideation compared to
implementing an avoidant response when facing peer victimization (OR = .73). The total model
accounted for 8.2% of the variance (Wald = 1779.88, p < .001; χ210 = 186.49, p < .001).

Discussion
The main findings of the current study indicate that avoidant coping is associated with elevated
depression and suicidal ideation. These results support the Coping Deficit model which posits that
a tendency to generate less adaptive coping strategies is associated with psychopathology (Asarnow
et al., 1987; Seiffge-Krenke & Klessinger, 2000). This model suggests that there is a bidirectional cycle
between coping deficits and psychopathology symptoms, in that individuals with ineffective coping
strategies are more at risk of experiencing psychopathological symptoms after stressful life events,
and such symptoms further limit effective coping efforts. (Asarnow et al., 1987; Seiffge-Krenke &
Klessinger, 2000). In the context of depressive symptoms and suicidality, the use of avoidant coping
strategies may be a risk factor. Here, an avoidant response to peer victimization was found to be
associated with the highest levels of depression and a somewhat elevated risk of suicidal ideation.
These findings are consistent with previous studies suggesting that in general, coping passively (e.g.,
through behavioral withdrawal, mental withdrawal, denial, avoidance, acquiescence) is correlated
with depression and suicidal ideation (Mathew & Nanoo, 2013; Votta & Manion, 2004). In the
specific context of victimization, it has been suggested that avoidant coping may halt victimization
for a while, although it does not solve the problem and may even indicate submission and encourage
more victimization (Völlink et al., 2013). Alternatively, avoidant coping may damage victims’ self-
esteem and instill feelings of incompetence, which in turn may pose additional risks of depression
and suicidal ideation (Lodge & Feldman, 2007).
The results also indicated that seeking social support from adults after peer victimization was
negatively associated with depression and suicide ideation. These results are in line with previous
studies which have also pointed to social support from adults as a generally adaptive coping strategy,
specifically with regard to depression and suicidal ideation (Herman-Stabl et al., 1995). Surprisingly,
seeking social support from peers when victimized was not found to have a clear protective role
compared to the other coping strategies with regard to depression and suicidal ideation. This finding
is nevertheless congruent with several studies which have found parental support to play a more
important role with respect to depression than peer support (Helsen, Vollebergh & Meeus, 2000;
Stice et al., 2004). This might have to do with the notion that peers who witness victimization
incidents often fail to take supportive action to stop the bully since they fear they will become victims
themselves or do not know what to do (Hazler, 1996). Furthermore, adolescents who chose to seek
social support from their peers over their parents when victimized might have a less secure relation-
ship with their parents and are at greater risk for depression and suicide ideation and behavior to
begin with (Cotter et al., 2014).
In the current study, retaliation after peer victimization was not found to be associated with
increased depression or suicidal ideation. In a previous study based on the SEYLE project conducted
by Kahn and colleges (submitted), general coping with stress through fights was found to be
associated with increased suicidal risk. These differences may be due to the kind of retaliation
assessed in each study. In the current study retaliation included not only physical fights but also
delayed or verbal retaliation, which are more subtle forms of retaliation and may therefore be less
maladaptive. Thus, the effect of a retaliatory response may depend to a considerable extent on its
form (social, physical or verbal), intensity, and timing. For example, lashing out physically after peer
victimization would probably not lead to favorable outcomes. However, controlled and measured
retaliatory responses may have some positive outcomes for the victim (De Quervain et al., 2004;
Zdaniuk & Bobocel, 2012). Thus, future studies should consider the long term versus short term
effects of retaliation, since the negative consequences of retaliation may be evident only over time
(Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004).
10 J. BENATOV ET AL.

Some gender differences in preferences for coping with victimization emerged. Specifically,
retaliation was the most common coping strategy among boys, while seeking peer social support
was the most common strategy among girls. These finding are in line with gender coping preferences
reported in previous studies (Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004; Kochenderfer-Ladd & Skinner, 2002).
Furthermore, seeking social support has been reported to have a stronger association with well-
being for girls (Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004). Gender differences to in the suicidology literature report
that males have significantly higher rates of death by suicide than females across ages and across
cultures (Canetto & Sakinofsky, 1998). One explanation for this discrepancy is that females are more
likely to seek support from others, seek help and regain social connectedness by doing so (Joiner,
2005). Interestingly, suicide ideation and attempt rates are significantly higher among females, which
could partially convey a cry for help to the social environment (Williams, 1997). Hence the tendency
in females to seek social aid and support seems to be a protective factor when it comes to suicide.
The current study has some limitations that should be noted. The associations between peer
victimization, coping, depression and suicidal ideation were examined cross-sectionally, although
they are complex and perhaps bidirectional (e.g., Brunstein Klomek et al., 2018). Coping deficits
might both precede and follow depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Thus, longitudinal
studies are needed to better unravel the associations between behavioral coping strategies to peer
victimization and depression and suicidality. Furthermore, the differences in depression levels
between the groups, although statistically significant, were numerically small, thus making it difficult
to draw conclusions as to the students’ subjective experiences. In addition, the current study
addressed predominant behavioral coping strategies characterizing students’ prime coping style
when faced with victimization whereas in real life situations students often rely on several coping
strategies. This may be the reason 5.4% participants reported “Don’t Know” to the question on their
predominant behavioral coping strategy. A further 12.9% of participants chose “None of the above”,
which thus underscores the need to broaden the categories of behavioral coping with victimization in
future studies. For example, Camodeca and Goossens (Camodeca & Goossens, 2005) suggested that
children perceive assertiveness (decisive behavior that is not aimed to harm) as a potentially effective
coping strategy for peer victimization. Thus future work should include adolescents’ perceived
effectiveness of their coping efforts. Cognitive and emotional oriented coping strategies to peer
victimization should also be explored in terms of their associations with depression and suicidality.
Additional studies are also needed to explore factors that mediate the associations between avoidant
coping and depression/suicidal ideation in the context of peer victimization. Some of these potential
mediators include a sense of helplessness or the isolation fostered by an avoidant approach (Gazelle
& Rudolph, 2004). An additional topic for future exploration is cross-cultural differences in coping
with peer victimization. In the current study, participants were from 11 different countries in
Europe. Cultural context was overlooked but could be significant and should be addressed in future
studies. In addition, future studies are needed to explore adolescents’ perception of the reactions of
significant others around them. Studies indicate that victims often abstain from reporting victimiza-
tion events and may perceive interventions from others as ineffective (Sulkowski et al., 2014).
Significant adults in the adolescent’s close circle (parents, teachers, school counselors) often are
confused about how to react effectively and what advice to follow when victimization occurs
(Benatov, 2019; Jacobsen & Bauman, 2007). This is perhaps most evident for retaliation, since school
authorities and school-based interventions tend not to recommend these tactics (see the Stop Walk
Talk intervention), but a substantial percentage of parents report applying one (Benatov, 2019).
Thus, there is still a gap between theoretically optimal coping choices and what children may
perceive as actually being effective among peers.
Despite the open questions, the current findings suggest that an avoidant approach toward
victimization is associated with some negative emotional outcomes, but that seeking support from
adults is less so. Retaliation was not associated with increases in depression or with suicidal ideation
compared to the other coping strategies. Seeking peers’ support was preferable to avoidance but
seeking adults’ support was more optimal. A better understanding of which strategies may be
 JOURNAL OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE 11

adaptive or maladaptive when coping with peer victimization is important, especially when planning
prevention and intervention programs. Adults such as parents and teachers should aim to increase
the level of support they provide and teach adolescents to ask for assistance.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
This work was supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programm [HEALTH-F2-2009-223091] and by
the Research Authority at the College of Management Academic Studies.

ORCID
Merike Sisask http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6821-6367

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