| 1. |
- Durkee, Tony, et al.
(author)
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Internet pathways in suicidality : A review of the evidence
- 2011
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 8:10, s. 3938-3952
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The general aim of this study was to review the scientific literature concerning the Internet and suicidality and to examine the different pathways by which suicidal risks and prevention efforts are facilitated through the Internet. An online literature search was conducted using the MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases. The main themes that were investigated included pathological Internet use and suicidality, pro-suicide websites, suicide pacts on the Internet, and suicide prevention via the Internet. Articles were screened based on the titles and abstracts reporting on the themes of interest. Thereafter, articles were selected based on scientific relevance of the study, and included for full text assessment. The results illustrated that specific Internet pathways increased the risk for suicidal behaviours, particularly in adolescents and young people. Several studies found significant correlations between pathological Internet use and suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury. Pro-suicide websites and online suicide pacts were observed as high-risk factors for facilitating suicidal behaviours, particularly among isolated and susceptible individuals. Conversely, the evidence also showed that the Internet could be an effective tool for suicide prevention, especially for socially-isolated and vulnerable individuals, who might otherwise be unreachable. It is this paradox that accentuates the need for further research in this field.
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| 2. |
- Iversen, Clara, Docent, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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Users' Perspectives on Crisis Helplines in Relation to Professional Mental Health Services
- 2022
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In: Crisis. - : Hogrefe Publishing Group. - 0227-5910 .- 2151-2396.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Crisis helplines aim to provide a short-term intervention or guide users to professional mental health services, but many users return to helplines despite having professional mental health contacts. Aims: To contribute knowledge on users’ perspectives on the role of crisis helplines in relation to their professional mental health contacts, we aimed to investigate how online helpline users describe such services. Methods: We used thematic analysis of 100 naturally occurring interactions from a Swedish online crisis helpline. Results: The users viewed the helpline as a safe space, a partner, or an alternative to bad professional services. Users oriented to ongoing helpline usage as crucial for their well-being while they described using professional mental health services to be able to stay alive. Limitations: The findings are limited to the nature of the different themes. Conclusion: The view on crisis helplines as a short-term intervention relies on an idealized view on crisis intervention that does not represent users’ views. User control is at the core of the appeal of helplines, but it is also a key challenge for organizations and volunteers.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Westerlund, Michael, 1962-
(author)
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Kommunikation om självmord på Internet : Risker och möjligheter
- 2014
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In: Tidskriften för svensk psykiatri. - 1653-8579. ; :4, s. 34-35
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Den digitala kommunikationen på internet har haft en omvälvande inverkan på individ och samhälle och också inneburit att skillnaden mellan den personliga, intima kommunikationen och den offentliga, publika kommunikationen delvis har suddats ut, vilket också får konsekvenser för hur självmordsämnet utvecklas och hanteras. För unga personer som överväger självmordshandlingar är internet idag den primära källan för information, kommunikation och hjälpsökande. Internet är inte en låtsasvärld, den befolkas av riktiga människor med olika sociala och kulturella bakgrunder. Och det som händer på internet får konsekvenser för verkliga människor. Delar av internet kan, och bör, därför ses som en typ av virtuella sociala miljöer där människor möts och utbyter tankar, känslor och erfarenheter.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Westerlund, Michael, 1962-
(author)
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Självmord och Internet : Kommunikation om ett livsfarligt ämne
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- With suicide still a taboo subject in contemporary society, websites and discussion forums on the Internet have become an important and controversial source of information. Through the Internet, the distinction between personal, intimate communication and public communication has blurred, which also has consequences for how the question of suicide is addressed in society. The aim of this dissertation is to examine how the subject of suicide is communicated, represented and addressed in the global and increasingly dominant communication platform of the Internet. Central to this purpose is the analysis and investigation of the discourses about suicide which are constructed and reconstructed by actors on the Internet, and how these discourses relate to each other and to the overarching social and socio-cultural context. The dissertation’s analyses are based on three Internet materials: (1) Google searches of the terms självmord and suicide; (2) Websites with a pronounced pro-suicide or suicide prevention content; (3) Discussion on Internet forums where suicide is the main topic. One of the central aspects that this dissertation points to is the struggle that plays out on the Internet between two distinct approaches to suicide, which feed into completely incompatible understandings and valuations of humanity and society. The dominant suicide preventative discourse takes the position that suicide is such a threatening and destructive act for society as a whole that it cannot solely be handled by the individual. Representatives of the pro-suicide discourse support the opposite view, in which suicide is considered an acceptable way for the individual to ‘solve’ major problems in their lives. Through the Internet’s expansion, actors supporting both views have found new ways of formulating their messages and reaching out to different audiences.
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| 7. |
- Westerlund, Michael, 1962-, et al.
(author)
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Självmordsprevention i skolor i Sverige - hur ser det ut idag?
- 2003
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In: Socialmedicinsk Tidskrift. - Göteborg : Socialmedicinsk tidskrift. - 0037-833X. ; 80:5, s. 462-473
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studien visar att beredskapen i svenska skolor är låg när det gäller att upptäcka och hjälpa elever som befinner sig i allvarlig psykisk och social nöd och därmed riskerar att utföra självmordshandlingar. Trots att en stor andel av rektorerna uppger att de har personlig erfarenhet av elever som begått självmord eller utfört självmordsförsök saknar majoriteten av skolorna skriftliga planer, förebyggande program och utbildning av personal i självmordspreventiva åtgärder. Inget i resultaten pekar heller mot några större förändringar i positiv riktning inom en nära framtid.
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| 8. |
- Westerlund, Michael, 1962-
(author)
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Talking Suicide : Online Conversations about a Taboo Subject
- 2013
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In: Nordicom Review. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1403-1108 .- 2001-5119. ; 34:2, s. 35-46
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present article discusses intimate conversations about suicide that are pursued on the Internet. Computer-mediated communication has made it possible for participants to remain anonymous and, simultaneously, enter into a public space to share personal thoughts about a stigmatized and taboo subject. This has also created new and unique opportunities to study a type of communication that was previously very difficult to access. Most of the participants on the studied forum are teenagers or young adults who communicate based on a need to recognize themselves in others, and to receive acknowledgement for their thoughts, feelings and experiences, thereby gaining acceptance and understanding. However, there are also destructive elements in the form of an exchange of suicide methods and participants exhorting each other to go ahead with their suicide plans. Moreover, participants are able to practise suicide behaviour in a mediated, conversational form, thereby making the act seem less fearful. The participants are furthermore involved in constructing and re-constructing a counter-discourse in which established society’s perceptions and values concerning suicide are questioned, as expressed in a critique against public institutions, mainly psychiatry.
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| 9. |
- Westerlund, Michael, 1962-
(author)
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The production of pro-suicide content on the Internet : A counter-discourse activity
- 2012
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In: New Media and Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 1461-4448 .- 1461-7315. ; 14:5, s. 764-780
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pro-suicide websites are topping search engine result lists, raising fears about the internet's detrimental influence on behaviour and attitudes related to suicide. Based on a qualitative analysis, this article argues that the production of pro-suicide content on the internet should be seen as a counter-discourse, directed against socially dominant perceptions of suicide. On pro-suicide websites, the description of technical, chemical and anatomic details, the expression of honourable and clearly individualistic ideals, the depictions of morbid bodily violence, together with the absence of emotional content could all be said to represent a kind of constructed Western masculinity. Furthermore, because of its potential for identity gain and the acting out of aggressive impulses, it is crucial - although this may seem somewhat paradoxical - to understand the production of the pro-suicide content as a manifestation of what is, for the participants, a meaningful practice.
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| 10. |
- Westerlund, Michael, 1962-, et al.
(author)
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The Representation of Suicide on the Internet : Implications for Clinicians
- 2012
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In: Journal of Medical Internet Research. - : JMIR Publications Inc.. - 1438-8871. ; 14:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Suicide is one of the major causes of death in the world, leading to approximately 1 million deaths per year. While much of what is said about suicide and its causes is still taboo in most contemporary societies and cultures, internet websites and discussion forums have become an important and controversial source of information on the subject. A great deal of ambivalence is discernible as to whether online communication about suicide primarily should be seen as an opportunity or a serious threat. Objective: To investigate how the subject of suicide is represented on the Internet, based on hits generated by the search engine Google. Methods: In an exploratory design, Google search results on the target word "suicide", for the years 2005, 2009, and 2012 respectively, were systematically analyzed and compared. Results: The study shows that web pages of institutional origin on the subject predominate, that the content provided by these institutions concerns primarily research and prevention, and that the form of communication used by these senders is almost exclusively monological. However, besides these institutional pages there are a substantial number of private senders and pages, often anti-medical and against treatment of depression and other mental problems, characterized by dialogue, confessions and narratives, and to a higher degree, an alternative pro-suicide stance. Conclusions: To counteract the influence of anti-medical and pro-suicide information, the role of the Internet should be discussed with the patient in clinical practice. Dialogical and confessional communications provide an opportunity for the clinician to gain a deeper perspective into perceptions of patients, regarding both their afflictions and the role of medical treatment in their lives.
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