Temporal and diurnal variation in social media posts to a suicide support forum.
Diurnal rhythms
Social media
Suicide
Suicide timing
Temporal pattern
Journal
BMC psychiatry
ISSN: 1471-244X
Titre abrégé: BMC Psychiatry
Pays: England
ID NLM: 100968559
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
19 05 2021
19 05 2021
Historique:
received:
06
11
2020
accepted:
06
05
2021
entrez:
20
5
2021
pubmed:
21
5
2021
medline:
29
6
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Rates of suicide attempts and deaths are highest on Mondays and these occur more frequently in the morning or early afternoon, suggesting weekly temporal and diurnal variation in suicidal behaviour. It is unknown whether there are similar time trends on social media, of posts relevant to suicide. We aimed to determine temporal and diurnal variation in posting patterns on the Reddit forum SuicideWatch, an online community for individuals who might be at risk of, or who know someone at risk of suicide. We used time series analysis to compare date and time stamps of 90,518 SuicideWatch posts from 1st December 2008 to 31st August 2015 to (i) 6,616,431 posts on the most commonly subscribed general subreddit, AskReddit and (ii) 66,934 of these AskReddit posts, which were posted by the SuicideWatch authors. Mondays showed the highest proportion of posts on SuicideWatch. Clear diurnal variation was observed, with a peak in the early morning (2:00-5:00 h), and a subsequent decrease to a trough in late morning/early afternoon (11:00-14:00 h). Conversely, the highest volume of posts in the control data was between 20:00-23:00 h. Posts on SuicideWatch occurred most frequently on Mondays: the day most associated with suicide risk. The early morning peak in SuicideWatch posts precedes the time of day during which suicide attempts and deaths most commonly occur. Further research of these weekly and diurnal rhythms should help target populations with support and suicide prevention interventions when needed most.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Rates of suicide attempts and deaths are highest on Mondays and these occur more frequently in the morning or early afternoon, suggesting weekly temporal and diurnal variation in suicidal behaviour. It is unknown whether there are similar time trends on social media, of posts relevant to suicide. We aimed to determine temporal and diurnal variation in posting patterns on the Reddit forum SuicideWatch, an online community for individuals who might be at risk of, or who know someone at risk of suicide.
METHODS
We used time series analysis to compare date and time stamps of 90,518 SuicideWatch posts from 1st December 2008 to 31st August 2015 to (i) 6,616,431 posts on the most commonly subscribed general subreddit, AskReddit and (ii) 66,934 of these AskReddit posts, which were posted by the SuicideWatch authors.
RESULTS
Mondays showed the highest proportion of posts on SuicideWatch. Clear diurnal variation was observed, with a peak in the early morning (2:00-5:00 h), and a subsequent decrease to a trough in late morning/early afternoon (11:00-14:00 h). Conversely, the highest volume of posts in the control data was between 20:00-23:00 h.
CONCLUSIONS
Posts on SuicideWatch occurred most frequently on Mondays: the day most associated with suicide risk. The early morning peak in SuicideWatch posts precedes the time of day during which suicide attempts and deaths most commonly occur. Further research of these weekly and diurnal rhythms should help target populations with support and suicide prevention interventions when needed most.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34011346
doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03268-1
pii: 10.1186/s12888-021-03268-1
pmc: PMC8136175
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
259Subventions
Organisme : Medical Research Council
ID : MR/S020365/1
Pays : United Kingdom
Organisme : Medical Research Council
ID : MR/T045302/1
Pays : United Kingdom
Organisme : MRF
ID : MRF_MRF-058-0011-RG-DUTT-C0761
Pays : United Kingdom
Références
Proc Int World Wide Web Conf. 2015 May;2015(Companion):315-321
pubmed: 27376158
Am J Prev Med. 2017 Jul;53(1):1-8
pubmed: 28279545
ACM BCB. 2016 Oct;2016:32-40
pubmed: 28736770
Curr Opin Psychol. 2016 Jun;9:77-82
pubmed: 27042689
Am J Public Health. 1991 Nov;81(11):1494-7
pubmed: 1951813
JAMA Pediatr. 2016 Dec 1;170(12):1202-1208
pubmed: 27802500
JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 Oct 1;76(10):999-1000
pubmed: 31290952
PLoS One. 2018 Jul 6;13(7):e0200162
pubmed: 29979741
Br J Psychiatry. 2015 Jun;206(6):443-4
pubmed: 26034176
Sleep Med Rev. 2016 Oct;29:101-7
pubmed: 26706755
Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 22;7:45141
pubmed: 28327593
J Adolesc. 2016 Aug;51:41-9
pubmed: 27294324
Pediatrics. 2016 Nov;138(5):
pubmed: 27940795
Prev Med. 2016 Apr;85:36-41
pubmed: 26791323
JAMA Psychiatry. 2014 Oct;71(10):1129-37
pubmed: 25133759
Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1987 May;75(5):532-5
pubmed: 3604739
Am J Public Health. 2012 May;102 Suppl 2:S195-200
pubmed: 22401525
HT ACM Conf Hypertext Soc Media. 2015 Sep;2015:85-94
pubmed: 28713876
J Affect Disord. 2016 Jun;197:175-81
pubmed: 26994435
PLoS One. 2015 Sep 09;10(9):e0136325
pubmed: 26353080
Br J Psychiatry. 2014 Feb;204(2):137-43
pubmed: 24311550
J Gen Intern Med. 1995 Jan;10(1):25-32
pubmed: 7699483
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2010 Apr;45(4):433-45
pubmed: 19536447
Br J Psychiatry. 2016 Oct;209(4):334-339
pubmed: 27388571
J Emerg Med. 2014 Jun;46(6):776-81
pubmed: 24462023
J Affect Disord. 2019 Jan 15;243:366-374
pubmed: 30266028
Am J Epidemiol. 1983 Jun;117(6):744-50
pubmed: 6859030
J Clin Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;77(6):e726-33
pubmed: 27337421
J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2016 Spring;25(2):80-6
pubmed: 27274743