The power of (Mis)perception: Rethinking suicide contagion in youth friendship networks

Zimmerman, Gregory M.; Rees, Carter; Posick, Chad; Zimmerman, Lori A.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.03.046

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Another source of error concerns accuracy and interpretation of ESB events. Zimmerman and colleagues (2016) found evidence of projection bias, as youth who had attempted suicide tended to overestimate peer suicidal behaviors. This study found younger participants and women were more likely to report a friend’s suicide attempt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Other studies, examining a variety of ages and cultures, have also found ESB associations were influenced by a variety of factors, such as age, type of exposure (family vs acquaintance), psychiatric history and number of NLEs (e.g. Burke et al, 2010; Elias et al, 2012; Tong, Phillips, Duberstein, & Zhan, 2015; Zimmerman, Rees, Posick, & Zimmerman, 2016). Evidence against a hypothesis can be more important than supporting data as it can prove the hypothesized trends are not consistent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exposure to suicidal behaviors: A common suicide risk factor or a personal negative life event?

Harris

Bettiol

2016

Int J Soc Psychiatry

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Exposure to suicidal behaviors: A common suicide risk factor or a personal negative life event?

Harris

Bettiol

2016

Int J Soc Psychiatry

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“…Despite the potential of internet-based social networking interventions for supporting youth at risk of suicide, there is concern about possible risks such as normalising suicidal behaviours and reinforcing them [15,23]. Additionally, just as clustering and contagion of suicidal behaviour have been demonstrated to occur in offline social networks [24,25], there may be a risk of such phenomena occurring in online settings, perhaps to an even greater degree [26,27]. Therefore, although online interventions incorporating theory-driven therapeutic content and peer-to-peer support may have great potential to target risk factors related to suicide in a format that is engaging and accessible to youth, they must incorporate considered safety procedures, including moderation and regular monitoring of user-generated content.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Enhanced Social Networking Intervention for Young People with Active Suicidal Ideation: Safety, Feasibility and Acceptability Outcomes

Bailey

Álvarez‐Jiménez

Robinson

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Online social networking interventions have potential to support young people who experience suicidal thoughts by specifically addressing interpersonal risk factors for suicide, but may also pose a risk of harm. This uncontrolled, single-group pilot study aimed to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of an enhanced online social networking intervention (“Affinity”) among a sample of young people who experienced active suicidal ideation, and to explore potential changes in clinical outcomes and the therapeutic targets of the intervention. Twenty young people with current or recent suicidal ideation who were receiving treatment for depression at a tertiary-level mental health service were given access to Affinity for two months. Participants were assessed at baseline and 8-week follow-up; 90 percent reported clinical suicidal ideation at baseline. A priori criteria related to feasibility, safety and acceptability were satisfied. In terms of potential clinical effects, significant and reliable pre-post improvements were found on self-report outcomes including suicidal ideation. This study provides initial world-first evidence to support the use of an online intervention incorporating social networking as an adjunct to treatment for young people who experience suicidal ideation. The effectiveness of Affinity needs to be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial.

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“…One recent literature review (Maple et al ., 2016) concluded that suicidal risk increased among adolescents beyond exposure from family numbers (i.e. friends, schoolmates or acquaintances) possibly due to imitation (Zimmerman et al ., 2016). However, previous studies of suicide exposure did not distinguish between the effects of exposure to a family member's suicidal behaviours and exposure to friends’/close acquaintance’ suicidal behaviours (Wong et al ., 2005; McMahon et al ., 2013), and did not examine the effects of ESB in both relatives and friends/close acquaintances (Nanayakkara et al ., 2013; Abrutyn and Mueller, 2014; Song et al ., 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicidal behaviours among Chinese adolescents exposed to suicide attempt or death

Liu

Wang

Bo³

et al. 2018

Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci

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Aims Suicidal behaviours in adolescents are prevalent and multifactorial. This study was conducted to examine the associations between exposure to suicide attempt (ESA) or suicide death (ESD) and suicidal behaviours in a large sample of Chinese adolescents. Methods Participants included for the analysis were 11 831 adolescent students who participated in the baseline survey of the Shandong Adolescent Behavior and Health Cohort (SABHC). Participants were sampled from five middle and three high schools in three counties of Shandong province, China. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, behavioural and emotional problems, family environment, suicidal behaviours (suicidal thought, plan and attempt), and history of ESA or death of a family member, relative, friend or close acquaintance. Based on the sources of exposure, the participants were divided into four groups: non-exposure, exposure from relatives only, exposure from friends/close acquaintances only (EFO) and exposure from both relatives and friends (ERF). Logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between ESA or ESD and suicidal behaviours. Results Mean age of the participants was 14.97 ± 1.46 years and 50.9% were boys. Of the participants, 9.4% reported having ESA, and 6.6% reported having ESD. The prevalence rates of suicidal behaviours were significantly higher in adolescents who had been exposed to suicide attempt or death than those who had not. Multivariate logistic regressions showed that ESA and ESD were both significantly associated with increased risks of suicidal thought (ESA: OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.66–2.31; ESD: OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.31–1.94), plan (ESA: OR = 2.37, 95% CI = 1.84–3.05; ESD: OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.18–2.23) and attempt (ESA: OR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.92–3.89; ESD: OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.18–2.82), respectively. When participants were exposed to suicide attempt, ERF and EFO groups had significantly higher risks of suicidal thought (ERF: OR = 2.61, 95% CI = 1.28–1.64; EFO: OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.64–2.36), plan (ERF: OR = 3.72, 95% CI = 2.04–6.78; EFO: OR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.74–3.01) and attempt (ERF: OR = 4.83, 95% CI = 2.30–10.17; EFO: OR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.73–3.81), respectively. Conclusions ESA or ESD was associated with increased risks of suicidal behaviours in adolescents. Exposure to suicidal behaviours of relatives and friends/close acquaintances appeared to have different influence on adolescent suicidal behaviours. Further research is warranted to examine the biological and psychosocial mechanisms between suicidal exposure and subsequent suicidal behaviours in adolescents.

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The power of (Mis)perception: Rethinking suicide contagion in youth friendship networks

Cited by 18 publications

References 39 publications

Exposure to suicidal behaviors: A common suicide risk factor or a personal negative life event?

Exposure to suicidal behaviors: A common suicide risk factor or a personal negative life event?

An Enhanced Social Networking Intervention for Young People with Active Suicidal Ideation: Safety, Feasibility and Acceptability Outcomes

Suicidal behaviours among Chinese adolescents exposed to suicide attempt or death

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