Exposure to, and searching for, information about suicide and self-harm on the Internet: Prevalence and predictors in a population based cohort of young adults

JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS

卷:185

Article

Mars, Becky¹  Heron, Jon¹  Biddle, Lucy¹  Donovan, Jenny L.¹  Holley, Rachel²  Piper, Martyn³  Potokar, John¹  Wyllie, Clare²  Gunnell, David¹ 

[1] Univ Bristol, Sch Social & Community Med, Bristol BS8 2BN, Avon, England

[2] Samaritans, Ewell, Surrey, England

[3] PAPYRUS Prevent Young Suicide, Warrington, Cheshire, England

关键词: ALSPAC;    Internet;    Self-harm;    Suicide attempt;    Suicide;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jad.2015.06.001

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Background: There is concern over the potential impact of the Internet on sell harm and suicidal behaviour, particularly in young people. However, little is known about the prevalence and patterns of suicide/self-harm related Internet use in the general population. Methods: Cross sectional study of 3946 of the 8525 participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pad ents and Children (ALSPAC) who were sent a sell report questionnaire including questions on suicide/ self harm related Internet use and sell harm history at age 21 years. Results: Suicide/self-harm related Internet use was reported by 22.5% (886/3946) of participants; 11.9% (470/3946) had come across sites/chat:rooms discussing self harm or suicide, 8.2% (323/3946) had searched for information about seldharm, 7.5% (296/3946) had searched for information about suicide and 9.1% (357/3946) had used the Internet to discuss self harm or suicidal feelings. Suicide/self-harm related Internet use was particularly prevalent amongst those who had harmed with suicidal intent (70%, 174/248), and was strongly associated with the presence of suicidal thoughts, suicidal plans, and history of self harm. Sites offering help, advice, or support were accessed by a larger proportion of the sample (8.2%, 323/3946) than sites offering information on how to hurt or kill yourself (3.1%, 123/3946). Most individuals (81%) who had accessed these potentially harmful sites had also accessed help sites. Limitations: (i) There were differences between questionnaire responders and non-responders which could lead to selection bias and (ii) the data were cross-sectional, and we cannot conclude that associations are causal. Conclusions: Suicide/seldharm related Internet use is common amongst young adults, particularly amongst those with suicidal thoughts and behaviour. Both harmful and helpful sites were accessed, highlighting that the Internet presents potential risks but also offers opportunities for suicide prevention. d 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

【 授权许可】

Free