Associations Between Social Media and Suicidal Behaviors During a Youth Suicide Cluster in Ohio

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Adolesc Health
• Personal Author:
  Swedo, Elizabeth A. ; Beauregard, Jennifer L. ; de Fijter, Sietske ; Werhan, Luke ; Norris, Kirkland ; Montgomery, Martha P. ; Rose, Erica B. ; David-Ferdon, Corinne ; Massetti, Greta M. ; Hillis, Susan D. ; Sumner, Steven A.
• Description:
  Purpose:
  
  Youth suicide clusters may be exacerbated by suicide contagion-the spread of suicidal behaviors. Factors promoting suicide contagion are poorly understood, particularly in the advent of social media. Using cross-sectional data from an ongoing youth suicide cluster in Ohio, this study examines associations between suicide cluster-related social media and suicidal behaviors.
  
  Methods:
  
  We surveyed 7th- to 12th-grade students in northeastern Ohio during a 2017-2018 suicide cluster to assess the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI), suicide attempts (SAs), and associations with potential contagion-promoting factors such as suicide cluster-related social media, vigils, memorials, news articles, and watching the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why before or during the cluster. Generalized estimating equations examined associations between potential contagion-promoting factors and SI/SA, adjusting for nonmodifiable risk factors. Subgroup analyses examined whether associations between cluster-related factors and SI/SA during the cluster varied by previous history of SI/SA.
  
  Results:
  
  Among participating students, 9.0% (876/9,733) reported SI and 4.9% attempted suicide (481/9,733) during the suicide cluster. Among students who posted suicide cluster-related content to social media, 22.9% (267/1,167) reported SI and 15.0% (175/1,167) attempted suicide during the suicide cluster. Posting suicide cluster-related content was associated with both SI (adjusted odds ratio 1.7, 95% confidence interval 1.4-2.0) and SA during the cluster (adjusted odds ratio 1.7, 95% confidence interval 1.2-2.5). In subgroup analyses, seeing suicide cluster-related posts was uniquely associated with increased odds of SI and SA during the cluster among students with no previous history of SI/SA.
  
  Conclusions:
  
  Exposure to suicide cluster-related social media is associated with both SI and SA during a suicide cluster. Suicide interventions could benefit from efforts to mitigate potential negative effects of social media and promote prevention messages.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Cross-Sectional Studies Humans Risk Factors Social Media Suicidal Ideation Suicide Suicide, Attempted
• Source:
  J Adolesc Health. 68(2):308-316
• Pubmed ID:
  32646827
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC8366066
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  68
• Issue:
  2
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:545ae6ce7df8b4289f0eeceaebdd4c077fb988800c44bcd34c58d94bf77b0316170ef687ec1f62c8434d4cf9f416655ba061f4b2087f40558369bcde90ef267c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/109124/cdc_109124_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 508.56 KB ]