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A Pilot Case-Control Study of the Social Media Activity Following Cluster and Non-Cluster Suicides in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Phillip Cheuk Fung Law

    (Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia)

  • Lay San Too

    (Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia)

  • Nicole T. M. Hill

    (Telethon Kids Institute, Nedlands 6009, Australia
    School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6009, Australia)

  • Jo Robinson

    (Orygen, Parkville 3052, Australia
    Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia)

  • Madelyn Gould

    (Departments of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA)

  • Jo-An Occhipinti

    (Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney 2050, Australia
    Computer Simulation and Advanced Research Technologies (CSART), Sydney 2021, Australia)

  • Matthew J. Spittal

    (Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia)

  • Katrina Witt

    (Orygen, Parkville 3052, Australia
    Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia)

  • Mark Sinyor

    (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada)

  • Benedikt Till

    (Unit Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

  • Nathaniel Osgood

    (Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C9, Canada)

  • Ante Prodan

    (Brain and Mind Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney 2050, Australia
    Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith 2751, Australia)

  • Rifat Zahan

    (Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C9, Canada)

  • Jane Pirkis

    (Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3053, Australia)

Abstract

Social media may play a role in the “contagion” mechanism thought to underpin suicide clusters. Our pilot case-control study presented a novel methodological approach to examining whether Facebook activity following cluster and non-cluster suicides differed. We used a scan statistic to identify suicide cluster cases occurring in spatiotemporal clusters and matched each case to 10 non-cluster control suicides. We identified the Facebook accounts of 3/48 cluster cases and 20/480 non-cluster controls and their respective friends-lists and retrieved 48 posthumous posts and replies (text segments) referring to the deceased for the former and 606 for the latter. We examined text segments for “putatively harmful” and “putatively protective” content (e.g., discussion of the suicide method vs. messages discouraging suicidal acts). We also used concept mapping, word-emotion association, and sentiment analysis and gauged user reactions to posts using the reactions-to-posts ratio. We found no “putatively harmful” or “putatively protective” content following any suicides. However, “family” and “son” concepts were more common for cluster cases and “xx”, “sorry” and “loss” concepts were more common for non-cluster controls, and there were twice as many surprise- and disgust-associated words for cluster cases. Posts pertaining to non-cluster controls were four times as receptive as those about cluster cases. We hope that the approach we have presented may help to guide future research to explain suicide clusters and social-media contagion.

Suggested Citation

  • Phillip Cheuk Fung Law & Lay San Too & Nicole T. M. Hill & Jo Robinson & Madelyn Gould & Jo-An Occhipinti & Matthew J. Spittal & Katrina Witt & Mark Sinyor & Benedikt Till & Nathaniel Osgood & Ante Pr, 2021. "A Pilot Case-Control Study of the Social Media Activity Following Cluster and Non-Cluster Suicides in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2021:i:1:p:343-:d:713789
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hill, Nicole & Too, Lay San & Spittal, Matt & Robinson, Jo, 2020. "Suicide clusters in Australian youth: A comparison of cluster detection methods," SocArXiv a6q3p, Center for Open Science.
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    4. Fahey, Robert A. & Matsubayashi, Tetsuya & Ueda, Michiko, 2018. "Tracking the Werther Effect on social media: Emotional responses to prominent suicide deaths on twitter and subsequent increases in suicide," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 19-29.
    5. Wissow, Lawrence S. & Walkup, John & Barlow, Allison & Reid, Raymond & Kane, Scott, 2001. "Cluster and regional influences on suicide in a Southwestern American Indian tribe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(9), pages 1115-1124, November.
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