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Lopez-Agudo LA, Marcenaro-Gutierrez OD. The association of internet searches and actual suicide in Spain. THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 151:406-424. [PMID: 37904597 DOI: 10.1080/00221309.2023.2276803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
High suicide rates are a major issue in Spain, to the extent that they are the main non-natural cause of death in this country. The present study analyses the relationship between Internet searches and actual suicide rates in Spain. For this purpose, we employ data from actual suicide rates and Google® searches for Spain, differencing by the means used to commit suicide. Our results show that suicide ("suicidio") search term seems to be positively associated with higher total suicide rates, in addition to suicides using poison, suffocation and jumping. The suicide ("suicidio") topic presents similar results to the suicide search term, and suicide by car crash also seems to be associated with Internet searches of this topic.
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Chang EC, Sánchez-Álvarez N, Rey L, Extremera N. Examining optimism and flourishing as protective factors of suicidality across the adult lifespan: A cross-sectional investigation in three Spanish age groups. DEATH STUDIES 2024:1-10. [PMID: 38416573 DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2322560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
We examined optimism and flourishing as unique protective predictors of suicidality (viz., suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors) in a cross-sectional study of young adults (18-35 years), middle-aged adults (36-55 years), and older adults (≥56 years). Young adults were found to have higher levels of suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors compared to middle-aged and older adults. Controlling for depressive symptoms, the results of conducting regression analyses consistently implicated flourishing as a distinct predictor of lower suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors in young adults and middle-aged adults. However, for older adults, only optimism was found to be a unique predictor of lower suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors. Implications of the present findings for understanding the differential role of optimism and flourishing in accounting for suicidality across the adult lifespan are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward C Chang
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Lourdes Rey
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain
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Voros V, Fekete S, Szabo Z, Torma E, Nagy A, Fekete J, Tenyi T, Osvath P. High prevalence of suicide-related internet use among patients with depressive disorders - a cross-sectional study with psychiatric in-patients. Psychiatry Res 2022; 317:114815. [PMID: 36063749 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
The association between Internet use and suicidal behavior is a subject of intense research. Internet use patterns of patients with depressive disorders were assessed to determine the prevalence and aim of browsing for suicide-related contents and its impact on help-seeking. Self-administered questionnaire among psychiatric in-patients treated for depression was used to assess suicidal behavior, characteristics of Internet use and help-seeking preferences. 113 psychiatric in-patients with depressive disorders participated in the study. One-third had a history of life-time suicide attempt and the majority had already encountered suicide-related contents while browsing the Internet. 27.4% reported intentional and specific search for suicidal contents. This suicide-related Internet user (SRIU) group was characterized by younger age, single status, more frequent suicidal ideations, and they more likely considered that they would attempt suicide in the future. Among patients with depressive disorders, a sub-group was identified with a potential higher suicide risk. The frequent use of the Internet and online help-seeking preference may provide an opportunity to prevent suicidal behavior in this high-risk sub-group. Further research is needed into the possibilities of using the Internet more effectively for suicide prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor Voros
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary.
| | - Sandor Fekete
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Zsuzsanna Szabo
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Eszter Torma
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Agnes Nagy
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Judit Fekete
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Tamas Tenyi
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
| | - Peter Osvath
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
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Padovano M, Aromatario M, D’Errico S, Concato M, Manetti F, David MC, Scopetti M, Frati P, Fineschi V. Sodium Nitrite Intoxication and Death: Summarizing Evidence to Facilitate Diagnosis. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph192113996. [PMID: 36360874 PMCID: PMC9654862 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192113996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over the years, forensic pathology has registered the spread of new methods of suicide, such as the ingestion of sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite causes increased methemoglobin, resulting in systemic hypoxia, metabolic acidosis, and cyanosis. Since sodium nitrite is a preservative, the ingestion of foods containing an excessive amount of this substance can also cause acute intoxication up to death. The present review is aimed at guiding health professionals in the identification and management of sodium-nitrite-related intoxications and deaths. METHODS A systematic literature search was carried out on PubMed by following the PRISMA statement's criteria. A total of 35 studies with 132 cases were enrolled, and the data were cataloged in Microsoft Excel. To establish the causal correlation between sodium nitrite ingestion and death, the Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale was used. RESULTS In addition to the small number of cases that have currently been published, the study demonstrated that there was a general methodological discrepancy in the diagnostic process. However, some interesting results have emerged, especially in post-mortem diagnostics. CONCLUSION Sodium-nitrite-related deaths represent a challenge for forensic pathologists; therefore, it is important to promptly recognize the essential features and perform the necessary and unrepeatable examinations for the correct diagnosis of the cause of death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Padovano
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Mariarosaria Aromatario
- Unit of Risk Management, Quality, and Accreditation, Sant’Andrea University Hospital, 00189 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano D’Errico
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health, University of Trieste, 34137 Trieste, Italy
| | - Monica Concato
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health, University of Trieste, 34137 Trieste, Italy
| | - Federico Manetti
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Chiara David
- Department of Public Security, Health Central Directorate, Research Center and Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Ministry of the Interior, 00184 Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Scopetti
- Department of Medical Surgical Sciences and Translational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00189 Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Frati
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Vittorio Fineschi
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Eysenbach G, Hosokawa R, Itatani T, Fujita S. Predicting the Number of Suicides in Japan Using Internet Search Queries: Vector Autoregression Time Series Model. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2021; 7:e34016. [PMID: 34823225 PMCID: PMC8647973 DOI: 10.2196/34016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The number of suicides in Japan increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Predicting the number of suicides is important to take timely preventive measures. OBJECTIVE This study aims to clarify whether the number of suicides can be predicted by suicide-related search queries used before searching for the keyword "suicide." METHODS This study uses the infoveillance approach for suicide in Japan by search trends in search engines. The monthly number of suicides by gender, collected and published by the National Police Agency, was used as an outcome variable. The number of searches by gender with queries associated with "suicide" on "Yahoo! JAPAN Search" from January 2016 to December 2020 was used as a predictive variable. The following five phrases highly relevant to suicide were used as search terms before searching for the keyword "suicide" and extracted and used for analyses: "abuse"; "work, don't want to go"; "company, want to quit"; "divorce"; and "no money." The augmented Dickey-Fuller and Johansen tests were performed for the original series and to verify the existence of unit roots and cointegration for each variable, respectively. The vector autoregression model was applied to predict the number of suicides. The Breusch-Godfrey Lagrangian multiplier (BG-LM) test, autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity Lagrangian multiplier (ARCH-LM) test, and Jarque-Bera (JB) test were used to confirm model convergence. In addition, a Granger causality test was performed for each predictive variable. RESULTS In the original series, unit roots were found in the trend model, whereas in the first-order difference series, both men (minimum tau 3: -9.24; max tau 3: -5.38) and women (minimum tau 3: -9.24; max tau 3: -5.38) had no unit roots for all variables. In the Johansen test, a cointegration relationship was observed among several variables. The queries used in the converged models were "divorce" for men (BG-LM test: P=.55; ARCH-LM test: P=.63; JB test: P=.66) and "no money" for women (BG-LM test: P=.17; ARCH-LM test: P=.15; JB test: P=.10). In the Granger causality test for each variable, "divorce" was significant for both men (F104=3.29; P=.04) and women (F104=3.23; P=.04). CONCLUSIONS The number of suicides can be predicted by search queries related to the keyword "suicide." Previous studies have reported that financial poverty and divorce are associated with suicide. The results of this study, in which search queries on "no money" and "divorce" predicted suicide, support the findings of previous studies. Further research on the economic poverty of women and those with complex problems is necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rikuya Hosokawa
- Department of Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Tomoya Itatani
- Division of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
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Garcia-Fernández D, Fernández-Salinero S, Giorgi G, Topa G, Marcos Del Cano AM. The Impact of Suicide Utility Perception on News over Terminally Ill Patients' Suicide Attitudes: A Pilot Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18168784. [PMID: 34444533 PMCID: PMC8394576 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18168784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Suicide represents a very important issue in public health. For approaching attitudes toward suicide, we have developed an instrument that, following previous recommendations, assesses specific thoughts related to the perception of suicide utility in the press. First of all, we will test the psychometric properties of the scale we created ad hoc for assessing suicide utility perception. After that, we expect to find that the suicide utility perception in the press will have a statistically significant impact on positive attitudes toward terminally ill patients' suicide (Hypothesis 1). In addition, this relationship will be mediated by suicide legitimation (Hypothesis 2). This mediation will be moderated by depressive symptomatology (Hypothesis 3). The sample was composed of 66 Spanish participants. Suicide legitimation was significantly related to the positive evaluation of terminally ill people's euthanasia. Finally, when the levels of depression's psychological concomitants increased, the support for terminally ill people's euthanasia increased as well. Implications and limitations have been discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Garcia-Fernández
- International School of Doctorate, The National Distance University (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain;
| | | | - Gabriele Giorgi
- Department of Human Science, European University of Rome, 00163 Rome, Italy;
| | - Gabriela Topa
- Social and Organizational Psychology Department, The National Distance University (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Correspondence:
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