title: Who Goes Online for Suicide-Related Reasons?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although people who use the Internet for suicide-related reasons have been found to report significantly higher levels of suicidal ideation, little is known about the characteristics of these users.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the differences between suicidal people who use the Internet for suicide-related reasons and those who do not.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 205 Australian citizens and permanent residents aged 18-24 years who had felt suicidal within the past year. Participants were recruited online through non-mental health-related websites and asked to complete an anonymous online survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In univariate analyses, suicide-related users reported significantly higher levels of social anxiety and lifetime and past year suicidal ideation than non-suicide-related users, as well as a higher likelihood of future suicide and overall higher risk for suicide. There were no differences on depressive symptoms and perceived social support. Both groups were unlikely to anticipate seeking help from any source and generally perceived similar barriers to offline help-seeking. Multivariate analyses showed that past year suicidal ideation and likelihood of future suicide significantly predicted suicide-related Internet use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals may choose to go online for alternative methods of coping when their suicidal feelings become more severe, demonstrating the need for more online suicide prevention efforts.
authors.affiliation: 1 Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mok
authors.affiliation: 1 Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Jorm
authors.affiliation: 1 Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pirkis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Internet; online; suicide; suicide-related Internet use