Graduate Program

Clinical Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2013

Thesis Director

John B. Best

Thesis Committee Member

Russell E. Gruber

Thesis Committee Member

William Addison

Abstract

Online suicide promotion is a recent and potentially problematic phenomenon in which individuals provide detailed instructions for or encouragement to enact self-harm to other internet users. These types of resources are freely available to anyone willing to look for them, and there is no legal hindrance to prevent their continued operations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency with which people in the general, nonclinical population access these sites with a particular interested in individuals experiencing depressive symptoms and in young adults. Both populations are likely to be influenced by suicide promotion. I predicted that individuals with depression would access suicide promotion and prevention material online more frequently than others and that young people, regardless of depressive symptoms, would access suicide-promotion material more frequently than older individuals. Participants, responding to an online ad, answered a series of surveys over the internet. A total of 127 people completed the study. Approximately 40% of respondents indicated that they had, at some point, viewed suicide-promotion material online while 22% indicated that they do so frequently. Approximately 56% reported accessing suicide prevention sites as well. Results revealed a strong association between depressive symptoms and the frequency of accessing suicide-promotion material. A strong association also exists between the frequency of depressive symptoms and the frequency of accessing suicide-prevention material. People experiencing depression appear to be turning to the internet for information on suicide, and they are reading information from a variety of potential influences. There was no relationship between age and frequency of access, indicating that older individuals are just as likely to view suicide-promotion materials as younger individuals.

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