title: The effect of suicide-related Internet use on users' mental health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have shown that suicide-related Internet use can have both negative and positive psychological effects.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the effect of suicide-related Internet use on users' suicidal ideation, depression/anxiety tendency, and loneliness.
  
  
  METHODS
  A two-wave panel study of 850 Internet users was conducted via the Internet.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Suicide-related Internet use (e.g., browsing websites about suicide methods) had negative effects on suicidal ideation and depression/anxiety tendency. No forms of suicide-related Internet use, even those that would generally be considered positive, were found to decrease users' suicidal ideation. In addition, our results suggest that the greater the suicidal ideation and feelings of depression and loneliness of Internet users, the more they used the Internet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since suicide-related Internet use can adversely influence the mental health of young adults, it is necessary to take measures to reduce their exposure to such information.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human Sciences, Wako University, Tokyo, Japan. h_sueki@wako.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sueki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires