Social Media and Suicidal Behaviour - Study 1

Overview

There is limited research investigating the correlation between suicidal behavior in the general population and online journalism reporting on suicide. Even less explored are the roles and characteristics of suicide-related news posts on social media platforms, along with reader comments, and their association with users' experiences. The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial is to experimentally examine the influence of these post features on user perceptions. Participants are expected to be university students or young adults. In line with this aim, the following research question has been posed: How do users of social media and forums perceive news posts about suicide on social media platforms? Participants will complete a screening battery of questionnaires. Those who will be eligible to participate will be divided into 1 experimental and 2 control groups. Firstly the participants will fill out a questionnaire regarding their current mood. Each group will read posts of a different theme, one of them will be suicidal behavior, deaths due to traffic accidents, and nature. They will be asked to observe and read 4 social media posts and their corresponding articles. After each article, they will answer a few questions on how they perceived these articles and how are they currently feeling. After the main part of the study, all groups of participants will be involved in a group debriefing conversation.

The clinical trial will comprise three samples: * The experimental group sample (experimental condition: reading articles on death by suicide). Experimental group sample will include 20-25 adult residents of Slovenia. * The first control group sample (control condition: reading articles on deaths due to traffic accidents). First control group sample will include 20-25 adult residents of Slovenia. * The second control group sample (control condition: reading neutral articles about nature). Second control group sample will include 20-25 adult residents of Slovenia. The total number of participants in all three groups will range from 60 to 80 individuals, they will be recruited through various channels. The research group will disseminate the link to the online invitation using the 1KA platform, along with a request for its dissemination to the departments of the University of Primorska and other public universities in Slovenia. Members of the research team will also share the research invitation with their students. Recruitment will be extended through media announcements, our website zivziv.si, and our Facebook account, UP Insititute Andrej Marušič. Additional invitations to participate in the study may be extended through brief presentations in courses across different academic disciplines, in collaboration with the respective course instructors. The research invitation will be freely accessible online and will include information about the compensation for participation. The invitation will also include a consent form, which participants will provide at the first stage and which will cover all further stages of study participation. The online consent form will be presented on the 1KA platform. The sample will exclusively include adult residents of Slovenia. Participants who receive the invitation and decide to participate will: i) Read detailed instructions about the project and participation and complete an informed consent: Clicking on the link will take potential participants to the first step of research participation on the 1KA platform. They will read all the relevant information about the purpose, implementation, and then proceed to complete an informed consent indicating their conscious decision to participate. If participants provide all necessary information and the informed consent for participation, they will receive a link to the next step on the 1KA platform-completing a battery of questionnaires for screening purposes (detailed in the section on the description of methods). ii) Complete the screening battery of questionnaires: Participants will then receive a link to a battery of questionnaires assessing subjective well-being, the presence of depression symptoms, and/or suicidal thoughts. After completing the questionnaire battery on the 1KA platform, all participants will receive an invitation to participate in the experimental laboratory study or a notice of potential rejection via their provided email address. The rejection notice will include an explanation of the rejection, sources of assistance in distress, the significance of seeking help, and our contact information. This notice will be sent to those participants who exhibit diminished subjective well-being, the presence of depression symptoms, and/or suicidal thoughts for their safety and well-being, excluding them from the study. Participants who do not exceed the predefined threshold values will be invited to participate in the main part of the study. iii) Participate in the main part of the study (experimental and control groups): The main part of the study will include the experimental group and two control groups of participants. Participants will be randomly assigned to groups, ensuring that the experimental and control groups are comparable in terms of the number of participants, gender, age, and their field of study or achieved education level (social sciences or natural sciences). Other characteristics of participants cannot be predicted at this stage. Participants will receive instructions for participating in the study. Potential participants will be informed that the remainder of the study will involve in-person participation under various experimental conditions (exposure to one of three different content modules). Each participant will be exposed to only one condition and its corresponding content module, but they will not know which one before or during active participation in the study. Participants will be informed in advance that they will not know which condition they are randomly assigned to during the exposure. This approach aims to ensure transparency while achieving valid findings. Participants will be informed of their assigned condition immediately after completing their participation in the main part of the study. After the main part of the study, all groups of participants will be involved in a group debriefing conversation, providing an opportunity for feedback from both the study's facilitators and participants. It will facilitate clarification of conditions (experimental or control group) and provide a platform for discussing participants' feelings, potential dilemmas, questions, etc.