Suicide Primers More Prominent on Internet Searches Than Prevention Sites


By Todd Neale
BRISTOL, England, April 11, 2008 -- If suicide is on a patient's mind, it's easier on the Internet to find a way to do it than to get help in preventing it, researchers here found.
Following a systematic search of suicide information using four of the most popular search engines, the three most frequently retrieved sites focused on how to commit the act, Lucy Biddle, Ph.D., of the University of Bristol, and colleagues, reported in the April 12 issue of the BMJ.
The fourth most frequent site the searches turned up was the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, which contained information including various methods for committing suicide.
"This research shows it is very easy to obtain detailed technical information about methods of suicide, not just from the suicide sites that have caused recent concerns but also from information sites such as Wikipedia," they said.
Dr. Biddle and colleagues conducted a search using the four most popular search engines on the Internet -- Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask.
They entered 12 simple terms into each search engine and analyzed the top 10 results of each, yielding 480 total results and 240 different sites.
Search terms included "suicide methods," "how to commit suicide," "how to kill yourself," and others.
Each site was then categorized according to the type of content: for example, pro-suicide, academic, or news.
Nineteen percent of the sites were dedicated to suicide, either providing encouragement or information on methods.
Sites focusing on suicide prevention or providing support comprised 13% and another 12% explicitly forbade or discouraged the act.
The most frequently retrieved site was Alt Suicide Holiday, which showed up in half of the 48 searches and provided information on how to commit suicide.
Almost all of the dedicated suicide and factual information sites provided information on methods, but so did 21% of prevention or support sites, 55% of academic sites, and all news reports.
But the researchers said that information on methods is just one way in which the Internet can influence suicidal behavior.
Chat rooms may provide a forum for peer pressure and suicide pacts. Also, the act of talking about suicide may lessen some of the uncertainty of going through with it, they said.
On the other hand, sites that provide emotional support and attempt to prevent suicide may offset some of the negative influence of the other sites.
The rates of suicide among men and women ages 15 to 34 -- the age group that uses the Internet the most -- have declined since the mid-90s, coinciding with a rapid rise in the use of the Internet, the researchers said.
In terms of regulation, attempts to filter suicide content on the Internet will likely fall to service providers or individuals with software for blocking content from children, they said.
Sites providing suicide information are not illegal in most countries, including Britain and the United States. One exception is Australia, where it has been illegal since 2006 to use the Internet to promote suicide or provide specific details on carrying it out.
The researchers suggested that "it may be more fruitful for service providers to pursue Web site optimization strategies to maximize the likelihood that suicidal people access helpful rather than potentially harmful sites in times of crisis."
Dr. Biddle is funded by a research grant from the Department of Health Policy Research Program. There were no competing interests declared.
Additional source: British Medical JournalSource reference: Biddle L, et al "Suicide and the internet" BMJ 2008; 336: 800-802.