Social media use, economic recession and income inequality in relation to trends in youth suicide in high-income countries: a time trends analysis
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Suicide rates have risen in young people in several high-income countries over the last decade. Reasons for the increases are unclear. METHODS: We analysed trends in suicide rates in 15-24 year olds over the period 2000-2017 in high-income countries with populations >20 million using Joinpoint analysis. We investigated differences in the following population-level exposures between countries that are and are not experiencing suicide rates rises: 1) 2008 economic recession as indexed by changes in GDP; 2) Gini income inequality; 3) daily social media use. RESULTS: Four of the 11 countries studied are experiencing youth suicide rate rises: Australia, Canada, the UK, the USA. The year the increase began ranged from 2003 (95% confidence interval: 2002, 2007) in the UK to 2009 (95% CI: 2007, 2012) in Australia. There was little evidence of an association between social media use and youth suicide trends, and inconsistent evidence regarding the impact of the 2008 economic recession. Suicide rate rises were seen in countries with higher GDP per capita (Wilcoxon rank sum (WRS) z=-2.27; p=0.02) and income inequality (WRS z=-2.45; p=0.01) in 2008. LIMITATIONS: Suicide data were only available until 2016/2017. Social media and income inequality data were not available for all study years. The effect of other important factors were not investigated due to a lack of comparable data. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses indicate that the most populous high-income countries experiencing a rise in youth suicide rates are predominantly English-speaking, with higher levels of income inequality and GDP. These findings provide preliminary evidence regarding possible contributory factors to guide further research.
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Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
This time-trends analysis examined youth suicide rates in 11 populous high-income countries from 2000–2017 and found rising rates in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA. It found little consistent evidence linking these rises to social media use or the 2008 recession, but some association with higher income inequality and GDP at the midpoint of the study period.
Key findings
- Four of 11 countries had rising suicide rates among 15–24 year olds: Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA. Upturn years ranged from 2003 in the UK (95% CI 2002, 2007) to 2009 in Australia (95% CI 2007, 2012); the greatest current increases were in the UK (10.8% per year, 95% CI −3.8%, 27.8%) and USA (7.4% per year, 95% CI 4.6%, 10.3%), and the smallest in Canada (0.6% per year, 95% CI −0.5, 1.9).
- All four countries with rising suicide rates had recessions in 2008–9, but there was no statistical evidence that countries with rising rates were more likely to have been affected by the 2008 global recession (Fisher’s exact test p=0.49; p=1.00 in sensitivity analyses). In three of the four countries the upturn appeared to predate the recession, though the UK and USA showed acceleration after it.
- Change in income inequality (Gini index 2004–2014) was not associated with rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum z=−0.29, p=0.77), but countries with rising rates had higher Gini index values in 2008 (z=−2.45, p=0.01) and higher GDP per capita in 2008 (z=−2.27, p=0.02).
- There was no evidence that the proportion using social media for ≥3 hours/day in 2013 was higher in countries with rising suicide rates (z=−1.51, p=0.13), nor that 2013–2017 changes differed between rising and non-rising countries (z=−0.76, p=0.45). In a sensitivity analysis excluding Japan and the Republic of Korea, there was some evidence that rising countries had the greatest increases in social media use between 2013–17 (z=−1.96, p=0.05), but not in use up to 2013 (z=−0.98, p=0.33).
Methods
- Time-trends analysis of high-income countries with populations ≥20 million: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, Spain, UK, and USA. Saudi Arabia was excluded because age-specific suicide data were unavailable for most study years.
- Suicide deaths in 15–24 year olds from WHO mortality data (2000 to most recent available year, 2016–2017); population data from World Bank; GDP per capita and Gini index from World Bank; social media use from GlobalWebIndex (2013–2017, proportion using ≥3 hours/day, with sensitivity analyses for ≥1 and ≥6 hours/day).
- Joinpoint regression was used to estimate annual percent change and identify joinpoints. Countries with and without rising suicide rates were compared using Wilcoxon rank sum tests for GDP, income inequality, and social media use, and Fisher’s exact test for economic recession. No formal time series analysis was undertaken due to the short 17-year period and limited data.
Limitations
- The paper states that only three a priori factors could be investigated, with no adjustment for their effects on each other; Gini and social media data were incomplete, and other potential factors such as divorce, alcohol or drug misuse, and environmental concern could not be reliably measured.
- The paper states that dichotomizing countries by whether suicide rates were rising may mask subtle differences; recession was defined only by a fall in GDP and did not account for national responses such as austerity; self-reported social media use is a crude indicator and may not capture type of use; online recruitment may not be representative; and ecological analysis cannot determine whether individuals who died were themselves exposed to the risk factors.
- The text makes evident that the small number of countries limits statistical power, which the authors note may explain the lack of association with recession; social media data were available only from 2013 onward, after upturns in several countries, so 2013 prevalence was used as a proxy for prior growth.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
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Claims the paper makes
0 of 42 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged
- Findingown data
In 2009 both Japan and South Korea experienced downturns in suicide rates around the time of the upturns in other countries.
“In 2009 both Japan and South Korea experienced downturns in suicide rates around the time of the upturns in other countries.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
In the USA, suicide rates in females have risen continuously throughout the study period without a preceding decline.
“Sex-stratified analysis indicated that suicide rates are rising in both males and females in Australia, the UK and the USA, although in the USA rates in females have risen continuously throughout the study period without a preceding decline.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The year the increase in youth suicide rates began ranged from 2003 (95% CI 2002, 2007) in the UK to 2009 (95% CI 2007, 2012) in Australia.
“The year the increase began ranged from 2003 (95% confidence interval: 2002, 2007) in the UK to 2009 (95% CI: 2007, 2012) in Australia.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Suicide rates in 15-24 year olds are rising in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA.
“Suicide rates are rising in Australia, Canada, the UK and USA (Table1/ Fig. 1).”
- Also stated in: § Abstract · plain
“4 of the 11 study countries are experiencing a rise in youth suicide rates.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Also stated in: § Abstract · plain
- Findingown data
Statistical evidence for a rise in suicide rates was only seen amongst females in Canada.
“In contrast, statistical evidence for a rise was only seen amongst females in Canada (Web Appendix 3 & 4).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
- Findingnone given
The four countries with rising youth suicide rates were the only predominantly English-speaking countries in the study.
“These four countries were the only predominantly English-speaking countries in the study.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was evidence that countries with rising suicide rates had higher levels of income inequality in 2008, at the midpoint of the time series (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-2.45; p=0.01).
“There was however evidence that countries with rising suicide rates had higher levels of income inequality in 2008, at the midpoint of the time series (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-2.45; p=0.01).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was no evidence that the proportion of 15-24 year olds using social media for ≥1 or ≥6 hours per day differed between countries where suicide rates are rising and those where they are not.
“The same pattern was observed when investigating the percentage using social media for ≥1 (z= -1.13; p=0.26) and ≥6 hours (z= -1.13; p=0.26) each day (Web appendix 7).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
When Japan and the Republic of Korea were excluded, there was no evidence that the four countries experiencing rises in youth suicide differed in increases in social media use up to 2013.
“When we excluded these two countries from our analysis, there was some evidence that the four countries experiencing rises in youth suicide have had the greatest increases in social media use between 2013-17 (Wilcoxon z=-1.96; p=0.05), but there was no evidence that they differed in relation to increases in use up to 2013 (z=-0.98; p=0.33).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was some evidence of an association between increases in time spent on social media and rises in youth suicide in the sensitivity analysis excluding Japan and the Republic of Korea.
“There was also no evidence to indicate an association between population-level increases between 2013-2017 in time spent on social media and the rises in youth suicide, although there was some evidence of an association in our sensitivity analysis when we excluded the two countries with the greatest declines in suicide rates and lowest rates of social media use (Japan and Republic of Korea).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was a short-lived upturn in suicide rates around 2008 in two other countries.
“In three of the four countries with rising suicide rates the 95% confidence intervals for the onset of the rise included the year of the onset of the recession (2008), and there was a short-lived upturn in suicide rates around 2008 in two other countries.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The finding that absolute GDP per capita in 2008 is higher in countries with rising suicide rates was similar in a sensitivity analysis excluding Japan and the Republic of Korea (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-1.96; p=0.05).
“Our findings were similar in a sensitivity analysis excluding these two countries (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-1.96; p=0.05).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was no evidence to indicate an association between population-level increases between 2013 and 2017 in time spent on social media and the rises in youth suicide.
“There was also no evidence to indicate an association between population-level increases between 2013-2017 in time spent on social media and the rises in youth suicide, although there was some evidence of an association in our sensitivity analysis when we excluded the two countries with the greatest declines in suicide rates and lowest rates of social media use (Japan and Republic of Korea).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Levels of income inequality and GDP at the mid-point in the time-series were higher in countries where youth suicide rates are rising than in countries with no such rise.
“Levels of income inequality and GDP at the mid-point in the time-series, but not changes in income inequality, were higher in countries where youth suicide rates are rising than in countries with no such rise.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
There is evidence that absolute GDP per capita in 2008 is higher in countries with rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-2.27; p=0.02).
“There is evidence that absolute GDP per capita in 2008 (the year the global recession began), is higher in countries with rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-2.27; p=0.02).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Rises in the proportion of young people using social media for ≥3 hours daily between 2013-2017 were seen in all of the countries studied except Italy.
“Rises in the proportion of young people using social media for ≥3 hours daily between 2013-2017 were seen in all of the countries studied except Italy (Table 4. Web Appendix 6).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingnone given
Three of the countries that experienced a recession had no upturn in suicide rates.
“Yet three of the countries that experienced a recession had no upturn in suicide rates.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
When Japan and the Republic of Korea were excluded, there was some evidence that the four countries experiencing rises in youth suicide had the greatest increases in social media use between 2013 and 2017.
“When we excluded these two countries from our analysis, there was some evidence that the four countries experiencing rises in youth suicide have had the greatest increases in social media use between 2013-17 (Wilcoxon z=-1.96; p=0.05), but there was no evidence that they differed in relation to increases in use up to 2013 (z=-0.98; p=0.33).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
There was no statistical evidence that the change in social media use between 2013-2017 differed between countries with and without rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-0.76; p=0.45).
“There was no statistical evidence that the change between 2013-2017 differed between countries with and without rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=- 0.76; p= 0.45).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Changes in income inequality were not higher in countries where youth suicide rates are rising than in countries with no such rise.
“Levels of income inequality and GDP at the mid-point in the time-series, but not changes in income inequality, were higher in countries where youth suicide rates are rising than in countries with no such rise.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
There was no evidence that the proportion of 15-24 year olds using social media for ≥3 hours per day in 2013 was higher in the countries where suicide rates are rising.
“There was also no evidence that the proportion of 15-24 year olds using social media for ≥3 hours per day in 2013 was higher in the countries where suicide rates are rising (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-1.51; p=0.13) (Table 4).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Four of the eleven high-income countries studied are experiencing a rise in suicide rates amongst 15-24 year olds.
“Four of the eleven high-income countries studied are experiencing a rise in suicide rates amongst 15-24 year olds.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The year the increases in suicide rates appeared to begin varied from country to country, ranging from 2003 to 2009.
“The year these increases in suicide rates appeared to begin varied from country to country, ranging from 2003 to 2009.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was inconsistent evidence of an association between the occurrence or timing of a recession and national trends in youth suicide.
“There was inconsistent evidence of an association between the occurrence or timing of a recession and national trends in youth suicide.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
In three of the four countries with rising suicide rates, the 95% confidence intervals for the onset of the rise included the year of the onset of the recession (2008).
“In three of the four countries with rising suicide rates the 95% confidence intervals for the onset of the rise included the year of the onset of the recession (2008), and there was a short-lived upturn in suicide rates around 2008 in two other countries.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The drop in GDP per capita in Australia in 2009 was negligible (0.1% compared with 4.1-6.0% in Canada, the UK and the USA).
“The drop in GDP per capita in Australia was, however, negligible (0.1% compared with 4.1-6.0% in Canada, the UK and the USA).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Japan and Republic of Korea's previously rising suicide rates reversed soon after the 2008 economic recession.
“Japan and Republic of Korea's previously rising suicide rates reversed soon after the 2008 economic recession.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was no statistical evidence that countries with rising suicide rates were more likely to have been affected by the 2008 global economic recession (Fisher's exact test: p=0.49).
“Nonetheless, we found no statistical evidence that countries with rising suicide rates were more likely to have been affected by the 2008 global economic recession (Fisher’s exact test: p=0.49).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
All four countries where youth suicide rates are rising had economic recessions in 2008-9.
“All four countries where youth suicide rates are rising had economic recessions in 2008-9 (Table 2, Web Appendix 5).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
There was no evidence that the proportion of 16-24 year olds using social media for three or more hours per day in 2013 was higher in the four countries where suicide rates are rising than in the seven countries where they are not.
“There was no evidence that the proportion of 16-24 year olds using social media for three or more hours per day in 2013 was any higher in the four countries where suicide rates are rising than in the seven countries where they are not.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The finding that countries with rising suicide rates had higher income inequality in 2008 was unchanged when Japan and Republic of Korea were excluded from the analysis (z=-2.12; p=0.03).
“This finding was unchanged when Japan and Republic of Korea were excluded from the analysis (z=-2.12; p=0.03).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The change in income inequality between 2004 and 2014 was not associated with rises in suicide rates.
“We found that the absolute level of income inequality in 2008 was associated with rises in suicide rates, but the change in income inequality between 2004-2014 was not.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Our time trends study does not find any strong evidence of an association between time spent on social media and rises in youth suicide rates at a population level.
“Our time trends study does not find any strong evidence of an association between time spent on social media and rises in youth suicide rates at a population level.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Spearman's rank-order correlation was positive between the Gini index values for 2004 compared with 2014 (rs=0.60, p=0.07).
“Spearman's rank-order correlation was positive between the Gini index values for 2004 compared with 2014 (rs=0.60, p=0.07).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The countries with higher GDPs in 2008 were those that are experiencing rises in suicide.
“Similarly, we found evidence that the countries with higher GDPs in 2008 were those that are experiencing rises in suicide.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The absolute level of income inequality in 2008 was associated with rises in suicide rates.
“We found that the absolute level of income inequality in 2008 was associated with rises in suicide rates, but the change in income inequality between 2004-2014 was not.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationown data
The timing of the increase reported in earlier studies (around 2010 in England and Wales, 2007 in the USA, and 2004 for females in Australia) falls within the 95% confidence intervals for years during which changes in trends were seen in our findings.
“However, the timing of the increase reported in these studies, around 2010 in England and Wales, 2007 in the USA, and 2004 (females only) in Australia, fall within the 95% confidence intervals for years during which changes in trends were seen in our findings.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Premisecitation
The increases in youth suicide appear to have been accompanied by other signals of deteriorating mental health among young people.
“These increases appear to have been accompanied by other signals of deteriorating mental health among young people (McManus et al., 2014; McManus et al., 2019; Twenge et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked - Premisecitation
Some of the key drivers of recent trends in suicide rates differ between low- and high-income countries, for example the prevalence of underlying mental health problems in the population.
“some of the key drivers of recent trends in suicide rates differ between low- and high-income countries, for example the prevalence of underlying mental health problems in the population (Knipe et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Knipe et al., 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Interpretationown data
There was little evidence of an association between social media use and youth suicide trends.
“There was little evidence of an association between social media use.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Social media use is likely to have been almost 0% before 2003.
- The authors state this as an assumption: The prevalence of social media use in 2013 can serve as a proxy for the extent of growth in social media use over the preceding decade.
- Premisecitation
Suicide rates in young people have markedly increased in several high-income countries over the last decade.
“Suicide rates in young people have markedly increased in several high-income countries over the last decade (Bould et al., 2019; Ruch et al., 2019; Stefanac et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked - Study design and conductown data
For most countries, there was no complete time series data available for the Gini index.
“For most countries, there was no complete time series data available for the Gini index (Web Appendix 2).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Premisecitation
A recent analysis of data from the UK Millennium cohort at age 14 (in 2014-16) reported that 43% of girls and 22% of boys used social media for more than three hours daily.
“A recent analysis of data from the UK Millennium cohort at age 14 (in 2014-16) reported that 43% of girls and 22% of boys used social media for more than three hours daily (Kelly et al., 2018).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Kelly et al., 2018 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Interpretationown data
Evidence of an association between the 2008 economic recession and youth suicide trends was inconsistent.
“Evidence of an association with the 2008 economic recession was inconsistent.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Premisecitation
Some of the most striking rises in suicide rates have occurred in high-income countries.
“High-income countries were selected because recent studies have highlighted that some of the most striking rises in suicide rates have occurred in these settings (Bould et al., 2019; Ruch et al., 2019; Stefanac et al., 2019)”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked - Interpretationreasoning
The lack of statistical evidence for an association between recession and youth suicide trends may have been due to the small number of countries included.
“Although statistical testing did not find evidence for an association, this may have been due to the small number of countries included.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationown data
The rises in youth suicide rates were associated with some measures of income inequality and GDP.
“The rises were associated with some measures of income inequality and GDP.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Premisecitation
In keeping with the temporary upturns from around 2010 identified in two countries in our study (Spain and Germany), recession-related suicides began to decline in several countries in conjunction with indications of economic recovery.
“In keeping with the temporary upturns from around 2010 identified in two countries in our study (Spain and Germany), recession-related suicides began to decline in several countries in conjunction with indications of economic recovery (Alicandro et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Alicandro et al., 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Study design and conductown data
Gini index data were incomplete, making multivariable time series analysis impossible.
“Furthermore, Gini index data were incomplete, making multivariable time series analysis impossible.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationown data
The difference between the association of absolute level and change in income inequality is likely due to the relative stability of income inequality over time.
“This difference is likely due to the relative stability of income inequality over time.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationown data
There was also a suggestion of a short-term impact of the global economic crisis on youth suicide.
“There was also a suggestion of a short-term impact of the global economic crisis on youth suicide.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationown data
It is possible that high levels of income inequality in rich countries contribute to the suicide rate rises.
“It is possible that high levels of income inequality in rich countries contribute to the suicide rate rises.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationreasoning
Rather than driving up suicide rates in itself, income inequality may provide a context in which other exposures may have greater impact.
“Rather than driving up suicide rates in itself, income inequality may provide a context in which other exposures may have greater impact.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Study design and conductown data
We only had concurrent data for social media and GDP for five years of the 17-year series.
“For example, we only had concurrent data for social media and GDP for five years of the 17-year series.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationreasoning
Our study is the first to comprehensively describe trends of youth suicide reported in the most populous high-income countries around the world.
“Our study is the first to comprehensively describe trends of youth suicide reported in the most populous high-income countries around the world.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Study design and conductnone given
Ecological studies such as this one cannot determine whether those who took their lives were themselves affected by the risk factors investigated.
“Finally, ecological studies such as this one cannot determine whether those who took their lives were themselves affected by the risk factors investigated.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Study design and conductown data
Our findings were unchanged when Japan and the Republic of Korea were excluded from the analyses.
“Nonetheless, our findings were unchanged when Japan and the Republic of Korea were excluded from the analyses.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
- May combine two claims. 34
- The quote only partly states this claim. 3
- Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 33
May combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe greatest current increases in youth suicide rates are in the UK (10.8% per year, 95% CI -3.8%, 27.8%) and the USA (7.4% per year, 95% CI 4.6%, 10.3%), and the smallest is in Canada (0.6% per year, 95% CI -0.5, 1.9).
“The greatest current increases are in UK (10.8% per year, 95% CI: -3.8%, 27.8%) and USA (7.4% per year, 95% CI: 4.6%, 10.3%) and the smallest is in Canada (0.6% per year, 95% CI: -0.5, 1.9).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.
Findingown dataGermany and Spain both experienced temporary increases in suicide rates in 2007-10 and 2011-14 respectively, followed by a return to a downward trend.
“Germany and Spain both experienced temporary increases in suicide rates in 2007-10 and 2011-14 respectively, followed by a return to a downward trend.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataSex-stratified analysis indicated that suicide rates are rising in both males and females in Australia, the UK and the USA.
“Sex-stratified analysis indicated that suicide rates are rising in both males and females in Australia, the UK and the USA, although in the USA rates in females have risen continuously throughout the study period without a preceding decline.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataFrance and Italy have experienced consistent declines in suicide rates over the study period, although the rate of decline has increased in France and decreased in Italy.
“France and Italy have experienced consistent declines in suicide rates over the study period, although the rate of decline has increased in France and decreased in Italy.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe upturn in youth suicide in three of the four countries appear to have predated the economic recessions, although the 95% confidence intervals for USA and Canada are consistent with it beginning around the time of the recession.
“The upturn in youth suicide in three of the four countries appear to have predated the economic recessions, although the 95% confidence intervals for USA and Canada are consistent with it beginning around the time of the recession.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataJapan and the Republic of Korea, the two countries with the greatest declines in youth suicide in recent years, both had the lowest levels of social media use.
“The two countries that have experienced the greatest declines in youth suicide in recent years, Japan and Republic of Korea, both had the lowest levels of social media use.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataJapan and France experienced a recession but did not show evidence of a concurrent rise in suicide rates.
“Japan and France experienced a recession but did not show evidence of a concurrent rise in suicide rates.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimThe quote only partly states this claim.
Findingnone givenThere is evidence that the rate of rise in suicide rates has recently accelerated in the UK and USA.
“There is evidence that the rate of rise in suicide rates has recently accelerated in the UK and USA.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataPoland neither experienced a recession nor rises in suicide rates.
“Poland neither experienced a recession nor rises in suicide rates.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataBased on their 95% confidence intervals, Spain and Germany's temporary upturn in suicide rates may have occurred around the time of the 2008 economic recession, as may the deceleration in Italy's downward suicide rate trend.
“Furthermore, based on their 95% confidence intervals, Spain and Germany's temporary upturn in suicide rates may have occurred around the time of the 2008 economic recession, as may the deceleration in Italy's downward suicide rate trend.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe lack of statistical evidence for an association between recession and rising suicide rates was unchanged when Australia was reclassified as not having experienced a recession (Fisher's exact test: p=1.00), and also when Germany and Spain were excluded (Fisher's exact test: p=1.00).
“This was unchanged when we reclassified Australia as not having experienced a recession (Fisher's exact test: p=1.00), and also when we excluded the two countries that experienced temporary upturns in suicide rates (Germany and Spain) (Fisher's exact test: p=1.00).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.
Findingown dataBoth the UK and the USA experienced an acceleration in the rise in suicide rates after the economic recession.
“Furthermore, both the UK and the USA experienced an acceleration in the rise in suicide rates after the economic recession.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThree of the four countries with rising suicide rates experienced rises in income inequality between 2004-2014, but so too did at least four of the seven countries that do not have rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-0.29; p=0.77).
“Three of the four countries with rising suicide rates experienced rises in income inequality between 2004-2014, but so too did at least four of the seven countries that do not have rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-0.29; p=0.77) (Table 3).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataJapan and the Republic of Korea experienced prolonged rises in suicide rates during the study period, followed by declines from 2009 onwards.
“Japan and the Republic of Korea experienced prolonged rises in suicide rates during the study period, followed by declines from 2009 onwards.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Findingnone givenJapan and the Republic of Korea experienced rises in suicide rates during the early years of the study period, followed by steep declines.
“For example, Japan and the Republic of Korea experienced rises in suicide rates during the early years of the study period, followed by steep declines.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductreasoningTo ensure that the research is representative of each country's online population, quotas are set on age, gender and education.
“To ensure that the research is representative of each country's online population, quotas are set on age, gender and education.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
PremisecitationIn England and Wales, suicide rates almost doubled in 15-19 year olds between 2010 and 2017, with some evidence that the rise was more marked in females than males.
“In England and Wales, for example, rates almost doubled in 15-19 year olds between 2010 and 2017, with some evidence that the rise was more marked in females than males (Bould et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Bould et al., 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).
Study design and conductnone givenThere are limited international data on secular trends in social media use spanning our study period.
“There are limited international data on secular trends in social media use spanning our study period.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.
Study design and conductown dataWe did not undertake a formal time series analysis due to the short time period studied (17 years) and limited data for social media use and GINI index for much of the study period.
“We did not undertake a formal time series analysis due to the short time period studied (17 years) and limited data for social media use and GINI index for much of the study period.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Study design and conductown dataAnnual social media use data were only available from 2013 onwards, yet upturns in suicide rates in study countries occurred before 2013.
“Annual social media use data were only available from 2013 onwards, yet upturns in suicide rates in study countries occurred before 2013.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
PremisecitationThe rise in youth suicide rates seen in Canada contrasts with relatively stable trends in all-age suicide rates in Canada between 2004 and 2015.
“The rise in youth suicide rates seen in Canada contrast with relatively stable trends in all-age suicide rates in Canada between 2004 and 2015 (Alicandro et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Alicandro et al., 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationThe authors reported that depression symptom scores for those with three to five hours daily social media use were 26% higher in girls and 21% higher in boys compared with those using social media for less than three hours daily; for ≥5 hours use the equivalent figures were 50% in girls vs 35% in boys.
“The authors reported that depression symptom scores for those with three to five hours daily use were 26% higher in girls and 21% higher in boys compared with those using social media for less than three hours daily; for ≥5 hours use the equivalent figures were 50% in girls vs 35% in boys.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Kelly et al., 2018 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductreasoningThe cut point of 20 million population was selected pragmatically to balance the need for sufficient power to detect trends, whilst ensuring graphical presentation of the data remained manageable.
“This cut point was selected pragmatically to balance the need for sufficient power to detect trends, whilst ensuring graphical presentation of the data remained manageable.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Suicide rates in 15-24 year olds tend to be lower than in other age groups, leading to instability in rate trends in smaller countries.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductown dataFor Japan, Gini index data were only available for a single year (2008).
“For Japan, Gini index data were only available for a single year (2008).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationThe prevalence of common mental disorders and self-harm in the UK rose between 2000-2014, particularly among 16-24 year old females.
“For example, the prevalence of common mental disorders and self-harm in the United Kingdom (UK) rose between 2000-2014, particularly among 16-24 year old females (McManus et al., 2014; McManus et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites McManus et al., 2014
Not checked in the free run.
- cites McManus et al., 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationStudies in Australia, Canada, the UK and USA indicate that rises in suicide in young people have occurred in parallel with other signals of deteriorating youth mental health, including rises in self-reported depression symptoms, suicide attempts and hospital admissions for self-harm.
“Studies in Australia, Canada, the UK and USA indicate that the rises in suicide in young people have occurred in parallel with other signals of deteriorating youth mental health, including rises in self-reported depression symptoms, suicide attempts and hospital admissions for self-harm (McManus et al., 2016; Mitchell et al., 2018; Twenge et al., 2019; Wiens et al., 2020).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checkedProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Interpretationnone givenThe years studied, geographic regions, precise ages studied, and statistical approaches were different in this study compared to earlier analyses of youth suicide rises.
“The years studied, the geographic regions (UK vs. England and Wales), the precise ages studied, and the statistical approaches were different in this study compared to these earlier analyses.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationRises in youth suicide rates have previously been reported in England and Wales, the USA and Australia.
“Rises in youth suicide rates have previously been reported in England and Wales (Bould et al., 2019), the USA (Ruch et al., 2019) and Australia (Stefanac et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checkedProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationProspective studies, not limited to adolescents, have also obtained varied results regarding an association between social media use and wellbeing measures.
“Prospective studies, not limited to adolescents, have also obtained varied results regarding an association between social media use and wellbeing measures (Hunt et al., 2018; Orben and Przybylski, 2019; Shakya and Christakis, 2017; Tromholt, 2016).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checkedProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationEvidence regarding the association between income inequality and suicide rates is mixed, with multi-country analyses revealing a possible association between lower levels of income inequality and increased suicide rates.
“However, evidence regarding the association between income inequality and suicide rates is mixed, with multi-country analyses revealing a possible association between lower levels of income inequality and increased suicide rates (Lynch et al., 2001).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Lynch et al., 2001 source
Not checked in the free run.
Classified as probably not a substantial claim.
InterpretationreasoningFocusing on single countries may lead to publication bias as researchers will tend to focus on countries that have experienced adverse trends or marked changes in rates.
“This may lead to publication bias as researchers will tend to focus on countries that have experienced adverse trends or marked changes in rates.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
PremisecitationPreceding cross-national analyses of youth suicide rates have not investigated trends, have completed follow up before or during the period in which many countries experienced upturns in suicide rates, and/or included low- or middle-income countries where drivers are likely to be different.
“Preceding cross-national analyses of youth suicide rates have not investigated trends (Glenn et al., 2019), have completed follow up before or during the period in which many countries experienced upturns in suicide rates (Innamorati et al., 2010; Kõlves and De Leo, 2016), and/or included low- or middle-income countries where drivers are likely to be different (Glenn et al., 2019; Innamorati et al”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked- cites Glenn et al., 2019
Not checked in the free run.
- cites Innamorati et al., 2010 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites Kõlves and De Leo, 2016
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningOther factors may explain the associations we observed or independently have influenced the trends in suicide rates.
“Yet these other factors may explain the associations we observed or independently have influenced the trends in suicide rates.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).
InterpretationreasoningThese findings provide preliminary evidence regarding possible contributory factors to guide further research, rather than a clear target to incorporate within suicide prevention strategies.
“These findings, therefore, provide preliminary evidence regarding possible contributory factors to guide further research, rather than a clear target to incorporate within suicide prevention strategies.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductreasoningOur dichotomization of countries based on whether or not they have rising suicide rates may also have introduced a bias, which might mask subtle differences, particularly in relation to economic exposures.
“Second, our dichotomization of countries based on whether or not they have rising suicide rates may also have introduced a bias, which might mask subtle differences, particularly in relation to economic exposures.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationThere is evidence indicating an association between higher income inequality and negative mental health outcomes.
“Nonetheless, there is evidence indicating an association between higher income inequality and negative mental health outcomes (Ribeiro et al., 2017).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Ribeiro et al., 2017 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductreasoningAs survey participants were recruited online, they may not be representative of the general population in countries with low or variable Internet penetration rates.
“For example, as survey participants were recruited online, they may not be representative of the general population in countries with low or variable Internet penetration rates.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Study design and conductcitationWe considered the influence of an economic recession by identifying a fall in GDP, but this approach does not take into account differences in national responses to the recession, such as the implementation of austerity measures.
“Third, we considered the influence of an economic recession by identifying a fall in GDP. This approach does not take into account differences in national responses to the recession, such as the implementation of austerity measures (Reeves et al., 2015).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Reeves et al., 2015 source
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
Study design and conductreasoningSocial media data for the study countries were only available for complete years from 2013 onwards, and the survey data are likely to provide at best a crude indication of time spent on social media.
“Fifth, social media data for the study countries were only available for complete years from 2013 onwards, and the survey data are likely to provide at best a crude indication of time spent on social media.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
Study design and conductown dataDue to a lack of comparable data, it was not possible to investigate the effect of other potentially important contributors to trends in population suicide rates, such as alcohol or drug misuse and parental marriage breakdown, including their relationship with the explanatory factors studied.
“Due to a lack of comparable data, it was not possible to investigate the effect of other potentially important contributors to trends in population suicide rates, such as alcohol or drug misuse and parental marriage breakdown, including their relationship with the explanatory factors studied.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).
Study design and conductnone givenTo the best of our knowledge no data source provides reliable and comparable age-specific data on factors such as divorce and alcohol or drug misuse.
“To the best of our knowledge no data source provides reliable and comparable age-specific data on factors such as divorce and alcohol or drug misuse.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).
Interpretationnone givenNevertheless, ecological studies are an appropriate approach for studying the impact of population level exposures such as income inequality and economic recession.
“Nevertheless, ecological studies are an appropriate approach for studying the impact of population level exposures such as income inequality and economic recession.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationIt may be that the type of social media content with which young people engage is more important for suicide-related outcomes than overall time spent using social media.
“It may be that the type of social media content with which young people engage is more important for suicide-related outcomes than overall time spent using social media (George, 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites George, 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationA recent systematic review of adolescent mental health outcomes in relation to social media use identified almost exclusively cross-sectional studies, and findings were mixed in relation to time spent on social media.
“A recent systematic review of adolescent mental health outcomes in relation to social media use identified almost exclusively cross-sectional studies, and findings were mixed in relation to time spent on social media (Keles et al., 2020).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Keles et al., 2020
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
Interpretationown dataThe 2008 measure is likely to provide a better indicator of relative income inequality, although its specificity in relation to the timing of the suicide rate rises is limited.
“As a result, the 2008 measure is likely to provide a better indicator of relative income inequality, although it should be acknowledged that its specificity in relation to the timing of the suicide rate rises is limited.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationAcross 54 countries globally, suicide rates increased in many age groups, including those aged 15-24 years, following the 2008 global economic crisis.
“Across 54 countries globally, suicide rates increased in many age groups, including those aged 15-24 years, following the 2008 global economic crisis (Chang et al., 2013).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Chang et al., 2013 source
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
Interpretationown dataOur analyses indicate that recent rises in youth suicide have occurred in all four of the most populous high-income predominantly English-speaking nations (Australia, Canada, UK and USA), which are also characterised as having higher levels of income inequality and GDP than the other countries studied.
“Our analyses indicate that recent rises in youth suicide have occurred in all four of the most populous high-income predominantly English-speaking nations (Australia, Canada, UK and USA), which are also characterised as having higher levels of income inequality and GDP than the other countries studied.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationEvidence suggests that passive consumption of social media content may be negatively associated with mental health, possibly via the mechanisms of upward social comparisons and feelings of envy.
“Evidence suggests that passive consumption of social media content may be negatively associated with mental health, possibly via the mechanisms of upward social comparisons and feelings of envy (Verduyn et al., 2015).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Verduyn et al., 2015 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationTime spent on social media generally equates to time not spent on alternative activities known to have beneficial impacts on mental health such as physical exercise and sleep.
“Nonetheless time spent on social media generally equates to time not spent on alternative activities known to have beneficial impacts on mental health such as physical exercise and sleep (Viner et al., 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Viner et al., 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
Study design and conductown dataDue to constraints in the availability of data, we were only able to investigate three a priori factors potentially linked to recent rises in youth suicide, and were not able to adjust for their effects on each other.
“First, due to constraints in the availability of data, we were only able to investigate three a priori factors potentially linked to recent rises in youth suicide, and were not able to adjust for their effects on each other.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductnone givenSelf-reported time spent on social media only provides a crude indicator of its use.
“Fourth, self-reported time spent on social media only provides a crude indicator of its use.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationActive social networking, including direct communication, has been associated with increased social capital and reduced loneliness.
“In contrast, active social networking, including direct communication, has been associated with increased social capital and reduced loneliness (Verduyn et al., 2017).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Verduyn et al., 2017 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationAmongst the countries studied GlobalWebIndex estimates 2019 Internet penetration for the total (all age) population ranged from 62% (Italy) to 96% (UK), although these figures are likely to be higher for 16-24 year olds.
“Amongst the countries studied GlobalWebIndex estimates 2019 Internet penetration for the total (all age) population ranged from 62% (Italy) to 96% (UK), although these figures are likely to be higher for 16-24 year olds (GlobalWebIndex, 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites GlobalWebIndex, 2019
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationAustralia, the UK and USA have all experienced rises in overall suicide rates over this period, although the timing of changes in these trends in overall suicide differ to those in youth suicides in the UK and USA.
“Australia, the UK and USA have all experienced rises in overall suicide rates over this period, although the timing of changes in these trends in overall suicide differ to those in youth suicides in the UK and USA (Alicandro et al., 2019; Office for National Statistics, 2019).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites Alicandro et al., 2019 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites Office for National Statistics, 2019
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
Study design and conductnone givenOur study selected countries a priori based on their population size, and only one eligible country (Saudi Arabia) did not have age-specific suicide data available.
“Our study selected countries a priori based on their population size, and only one eligible country (Saudi Arabia) did not have age-specific suicide data available.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductcitationGlobalWebIndex's estimate of social media usage for 15-24 year olds in the UK (30.5% used it for three or more hours per day in 2015) is broadly consistent with the estimate for 14 year olds in the UK in 2014-16 from the Millennium cohort: 43% for girls and 22% for boys reported social media use for at least 3 hours daily.
“It is reassuring that GlobalWebIndex's estimate of social media usage for 15-24 year olds in the UK (30.5% used it for three or more hours per day in 2015) is broadly consistent with the estimate for 14 year olds in the UK in 2014-16 from the Millennium cohort: 43% for girls and 22% for boys reported social media use for at least 3 hours daily (Kelly et al., 2018).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Kelly et al., 2018 source
Not checked in the free run.
The paper relies on this without support.
Social media use is likely to have been almost 0% before 2003.
“noting that social media use is likely to have been almost 0% before 2003.”
The authors state this as an assumption.
The prevalence of social media use in 2013 can serve as a proxy for the extent of growth in social media use over the preceding decade.
“we considered the prevalence of social media use in 2013 as a proxy for the extent of growth in use over the preceding decade”
The paper relies on this without support.
Suicide rates in 15-24 year olds tend to be lower than in other age groups, leading to instability in rate trends in smaller countries.
“As suicide rates in 15-24 year olds tend to be lower than in other age groups, leading to instability in rate trends in smaller countries, we focused on countries with populations of greater than 20 million.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The 2008 global recession, increases in income inequality, and growth in social media use are leading contenders as explanations for suicide rate rises.
“We investigated concurrent trends in three leading contenders as explanations for suicide rate rises, which were selected on a priori grounds based on previously published associations with suicidal behaviour: the 2008 global recession, increases in income inequality, and growth in social media use.”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
An increase in the prevalence of mental health problems and suicide among young people has been reported in other countries.
“An increase in the prevalence of mental health problems and suicide among young people has also been reported in other countries (Padmanathan, Bould, Winstone, Moran, & Gunnell, 2020;Pitchforth et al., 2018;Thorisdottir, Asgeirsdottir, Sigurvinsdottir, Allegrante, & Sigfusdottir, 2017;Wiens et al., 2020).”
From The relationship between screen time and mental health in young people: A systematic review of longitudinal studies (2021) · cites this paper as Padmanathan et al., 2020
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
2013 social-media-use p-value is negative in Table 4
MinorTable 4 gives a negative p-value for the 2013 social-media-use comparison, while the results text reports the corresponding p-value as positive 0.13.
“z=-1.51 (p=-0.13)”
“There was also no evidence that the proportion of 15-24 year olds using social media for ≥3 hours per day in 2013 was higher in the countries where suicide rates are rising (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=-1.51; p=0.13) (Table 4).”
Social-media trend p-value is negative in Table 4
MinorTable 4 gives a negative p-value for the 2013-2017 social-media trend comparison, whereas the results text reports the corresponding p-value as positive 0.45.
“z= -0.76 (p=- 0.45)”
“There was no statistical evidence that the change between 2013-2017 differed between countries with and without rising suicide rates (Wilcoxon rank sum test z=- 0.76; p= 0.45).”
Cites
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851 · Cited by 1,909 · cited 1× · see citing works
“A recent systematic review of adolescent mental health outcomes in relation to social media use identified almost exclusively cross-sectional studies, and findings were mixed in relation to time spent on social media (Keles et al., 2020).”
BackgroundThe association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use
Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0506-1 · Cited by 1,500 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Prospective studies, not limited to adolescents, have also obtained varied results regarding an association between social media use and wellbeing measures (Hunt et al., 2018; Orben and Przybylski, 2019; Shakya and Christakis, 2017; Tromholt, 2016).”
ResultTwenge, J. M., Cooper, A. B., Joiner, T. E., Duffy, M. E., & Binau, S. G. (2019) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000410 · Cited by 1,469 · cited 2× · see citing works
“These increases appear to have been accompanied by other signals of deteriorating mental health among young people (McManus et al., 2014; McManus et al., 2019; Twenge et al., 2019).”
BackgroundDo social network sites enhance or undermine subjective well-being? A critical review
Verduyn, P., Ybarra, O., Résibois, M., Jonides, J., & Kross, E. (2017) · Social Issues and Policy Review · doi:10.1111/sipr.12033 · Cited by 1,209 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In contrast, active social networking, including direct communication, has been associated with increased social capital and reduced loneliness (Verduyn et al., 2017).”
BackgroundPassive Facebook usage undermines affective well-being: Experimental and longitudinal evidence.
Verduyn, P., Lee, D. S., Park, J., Shablack, H., Orvell, A., Bayer, J., Ybarra, O., Jonides, J., & Kross, E. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/xge0000057 · Cited by 988 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Evidence suggests that passive consumption of social media content may be negatively associated with mental health, possibly via the mechanisms of upward social comparisons and feelings of envy (Verduyn et al., 2015).”
BackgroundNo More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression
Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C., & Young, J. (2018) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751 · Cited by 947 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Prospective studies, not limited to adolescents, have also obtained varied results regarding an association between social media use and wellbeing measures (Hunt et al., 2018; Orben and Przybylski, 2019; Shakya and Christakis, 2017; Tromholt, 2016).”
ResultImpact of 2008 global economic crisis on suicide: time trend study in 54 countries.
Chang, S.-S., Stuckler, D., Yip, P., & Gunnell, D. (2013) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.f5239 · Cited by 799 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Across 54 countries globally, suicide rates increased in many age groups, including those aged 15-24 years, following the 2008 global economic crisis (Chang et al., 2013).”
BackgroundSelf-citation(2016) · City Research Online (City University London) · Cited by 747 · see citing works
Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
Kelly, Y., Zilanawala, A., Booker, C., & Sacker, A. (2018) · EClinicalMedicine · doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.12.005 · Cited by 740 · cited 2× · see citing works
“for three or more hours per day in 2015) is broadly consistent with the estimate for 14 year olds in the UK in 2014-16 from the Millennium cohort: 43% for girls and 22% for boys reported social media use for at least 3 hours daily (Kelly et al., 2018).”
MethodResultIncome inequality, the psychosocial environment, and health: comparisons of wealthy nations
Lynch, J., Smith, G. D., Hillemeier, M., Shaw, M., Raghunathan, T., & Kaplan, G. (2001) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)05407-1 · Cited by 450 · cited 1× · see citing works
“However, evidence regarding the association between income inequality and suicide rates is mixed, with multi-country analyses revealing a possible association between lower levels of income inequality and increased suicide rates (Lynch et al., 2001).”
ResultThe Facebook experiment: Quitting Facebook leads to higher levels of well-being
Tromholt, M. (2016) · Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0259 · Cited by 419 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Prospective studies, not limited to adolescents, have also obtained varied results regarding an association between social media use and wellbeing measures (Hunt et al., 2018; Orben and Przybylski, 2019; Shakya and Christakis, 2017; Tromholt, 2016).”
ResultMcManus, S., Gunnell, D., Cooper, C., Bebbington, P. E., Howard, L. M., Brugha, T., Jenkins, R., Hassiotis, A., Weich, S., & Appleby, L. (2019) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(19)30188-9 · Cited by 415 · cited 2× · see citing works
“For example, the prevalence of common mental disorders and self-harm in the United Kingdom (UK) rose between 2000-2014, particularly among 16-24 year old females (McManus et al., 2014; McManus et al., 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationAnnual Research Review: A meta‐analytic review of worldwide suicide rates in adolescents
Glenn, C. R., Kleiman, E. M., Kellerman, J., Pollak, O., Cha, C. B., Esposito, E. C., Porter, A. C., Wyman, P. A., & Boatman, A. E. (2020) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13106 · Cited by 391 · cited 2× · see citing works
“, 2010; Kõlves and De Leo, 2016), and/or included low- or middle-income countries where drivers are likely to be different (Glenn et al., 2019; Innamorati et al., 2010; Kõlves and De Leo, 2016; McLoughlin et al., 2015).”
BackgroundAssociation of Facebook Use With Compromised Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study
Shakya, H. B., & Christakis, N. A. (2017) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kww189 · Cited by 378 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Prospective studies, not limited to adolescents, have also obtained varied results regarding an association between social media use and wellbeing measures (Hunt et al., 2018; Orben and Przybylski, 2019; Shakya and Christakis, 2017; Tromholt, 2016).”
ResultGlobal trends in teenage suicide: 2003–2014
McLoughlin, A., Gould, M. S., & Malone, K. M. (2015) · QJM · doi:10.1093/qjmed/hcv026 · Cited by 360 · cited 1× · see citing works
“, 2010; Kõlves and De Leo, 2016), and/or included low- or middle-income countries where drivers are likely to be different (Glenn et al., 2019; Innamorati et al., 2010; Kõlves and De Leo, 2016; McLoughlin et al., 2015).”
BackgroundTrends in Suicide Among Youth Aged 10 to 19 Years in the United States, 1975 to 2016
Ruch, D. A., Sheftall, A. H., Schlagbaum, P., Rausch, J., Campo, J. V., & Bridge, J. A. (2019) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.3886 · Cited by 303 · see citing works
Viner, R. M., Gireesh, A., Stiglic, N., Hudson, L. D., Goddings, A.-L., Ward, J. L., & Nicholls, D. E. (2019) · The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/s2352-4642(19)30186-5 · Cited by 295 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Nonetheless time spent on social media generally equates to time not spent on alternative activities known to have beneficial impacts on mental health such as physical exercise and sleep (Viner et al., 2019).”
BackgroundWiens, K., Bhattarai, A., Pedram, P., Dores, A., Williams, J., Bulloch, A., & Patten, S. (2020) · Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences · doi:10.1017/s2045796020000281 · Cited by 285 · cited 2× · see citing works
“…in young people have occurred in parallel with other signals of deteriorating youth mental health, including rises in self-reported depression symptoms, suicide attempts and hospital admissions for selfharm (McManus et al., 2016; Mitchell et al., 2018; Twenge et al., 2019; Wiens et al., 2020).”
BackgroundRibeiro, W. S., Bauer, A., Andrade, M. C. R., York-Smith, M., Pan, P. M., Pingani, L., Knapp, M., Coutinho, E. S. F., & Evans-Lacko, S. (2017) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(17)30159-1 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Adolescent mental health in crisis
Gunnell, D., Kidger, J., & Elvidge, H. (2018) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.k2608 · Cited by 223 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In addition to enhancing investment in mental health services for young people, there is a pressing need for appropriate population-based prevention strategies (Gunnell et al., 2018).”
BackgroundSelf-citationKnipe, D., Williams, A. J., Hannam-Swain, S., Upton, S., Brown, K., Bandara, P., Chang, S.-S., & Kapur, N. (2019) · PLOS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002905 · Cited by 174 · cited 1× · see citing works
“, 2019), and some of the key drivers of recent trends in suicide rates differ between low- and high-income countries, for example the prevalence of underlying mental health problems in the population (Knipe et al., 2019).”
BackgroundReeves, A., McKee, M., Gunnell, D., Chang, S.-S., Basu, S., Barr, B., & Stuckler, D. (2015) · European Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/eurpub/cku168 · Cited by 166 · cited 1× · see citing works
“This approach does not take into account differences in national responses to the recession, such as the implementation of austerity measures (Reeves et al., 2015).”
BackgroundSelf-citationRising suicide rates among adolescents in England and Wales
Bould, H., Mars, B., Moran, P., Biddle, L., & Gunnell, D. (2019) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(19)31102-x · Cited by 146 · cited 7× · see citing works
“Suicide rates in young people have markedly increased in several high-income countries over the last decade (Bould et al., 2019; Ruch et al., 2019; Stefanac et al., 2019).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationAlicandro, G., Malvezzi, M., Gallus, S., La Vecchia, C., Negri, E., & Bertuccio, P. (2019) · International Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1007/s00038-019-01219-y · Cited by 122 · cited 17× · see citing works
“Sex-stratified analysis indicated that suicide rates are rising in both males and females in Australia, the UK and the USA, although in the USA rates in females have risen continuously throughout the study period without a preceding decline.”
BackgroundInfluentialStefanac, N., Hetrick, S., Hulbert, C., Spittal, M. J., Witt, K., & Robinson, J. (2019) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7742-9 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Adolescent Suicide Rates Between 1990 and 2009: Analysis of Age Group 15–19 Years Worldwide
Kõlves, K., & Leo, D. D. (2015) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.09.014 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
The importance of social media content for teens' risks for self-harm
George, M. (2019) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.04.022 · Cited by 37 · cited 1× · see citing works
“It may be that the type of social media content with which young people engage is more important for suicide-related outcomes than overall time spent using social media (George, 2019).”
BackgroundMitchell, R. J., Seah, R., Ting, H. P., Curtis, K., & Foster, K. (2018) · Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12782 · Cited by 31 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Studies in Australia, Canada, the UK and USA indicate that the rises in suicide in young people have occurred in parallel with other signals of deteriorating youth mental health, including rises in self-reported depression symptoms, suicide attempts and hospital admissions for selfharm (McManus et al., 2016; Mitchell…”
BackgroundInnamorati, M., Lester, D., Amore, M., Girardi, P., Tatarelli, R., & Pompili, M. (2010) · Alcohol · doi:10.1016/j.alcohol.2010.07.007 · Cited by 27 · cited 4× · see citing works
“…in which many countries experienced upturns in suicide rates (Innamorati et al., 2010; Kõlves and De Leo, 2016), and/or included low- or middle-income countries where drivers are likely to be different (Glenn et al., 2019; Innamorati et al., 2010; Kõlves and De Leo, 2016; McLoughlin et al., 2015).”
BackgroundInfluential
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 31 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- McManus, 2016, Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Office for National Statistics, 2019. Statistical bulletin: Suicides in the UK: 2018 registrations.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Tang, S., Werner-Seidler, A., Torok, M., Mackinnon, A. J., & Christensen, H. (2021) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102021 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Van Meter, A. R., Knowles, E. A., & Mintz, E. H. (2023) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2022.07.867 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
The youth mental health crisis: analysis and solutions
McGorry, P. D., Gunasiri, H., Mei, C., Rice, S., & Gao, C. X. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1517533 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
Guerra, O., & Eboreime, E. (2021) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs11090119 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
“A study focused on youth (ages 15–24) from high-income countries found that those in countries with high levels of income inequality and GDP in 2008 saw rising suicide rates among this population [132].”
BackgroundAnxiety and depression amongst youth as adverse effects of using social media : A Review
Prasad, S., Souabni, S. A., Anugwom, G., Aneni, K., Anand, A., Urhi, A., Obi-Azuike, C., Gibson, T., Khan, A., & Oladunjoye, A. F. (2023) · Annals of Medicine and Surgery · doi:10.1097/ms9.0000000000001066 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Child suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic in England
Odd, D., Williams, T. G. S., Appleby, L., Gunnell, D., & Luyt, K. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100273 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
“While rates are low in children compared to other demographic groups, childhood rates in the UK have been rising since around 2010 (Bould et al., 2019), and similar trends have been seen in young adulthood suicide in other countries (Padmanathan et al., 2020; Zang et al., 2019).”
Self-citationSalmi, S., Mérelle, S. Y. M., Gilissen, R., van der Mei, R., & Bhulai, S. (2022) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-022-12926-2 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“The second hypothesis is that the observed changes in topic usage will differ between people younger than 30 and older than 30, since adolescents particularly are at risk and even before the pandemic suicide rates were rising among young people in certain high-income countries [7, 16].”
BackgroundRodway, C., Tham, S.-G., Richards, N., Ibrahim, S. A., Turnbull, P., Kapur, N., & Appleby, L. (2022) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291722001258 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Child Mortality in England During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Odd, D., Stoianova, S., Williams, T. G. S., et al. (2023) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.49191 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Cybulski, Ł., Ashcroft, D. M., Carr, M., Garg, S., Chew-Graham, C. A., Kapur, N., & Webb, R. T. (2021) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13552 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Chang, Y., Lin, C., Liao, S., Chen, Y., Shaw, F. F., Hsu, C., Gunnell, D., & Chang, S. (2022) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/00048674221108640 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“By contrast, a recent study found no difference in the increase in time spent on social media in the population between high-income countries with and without a recent increase in youth suicide (Padmanathan et al., 2020).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationSuicidal behaviour and ideation among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic
Grace, R. D.-D., Carvalho, D., Courtney, D., & Aitken, M. (2023) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101650 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Osborne, D., de Boer, K., Meyer, D., & Nedeljkovic, M. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20010822 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“Yet, over the past few decades, in high-income countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK, and USA, suicide rates in young adults have been increasing [1].”
BackgroundAnthony, R., Moore, G. F., Page, N., Ollerhead, C., Parker, J., Murphy, S., Rice, F. J., Armitage, J. M., & Collishaw, S. (2023) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13924 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“…with UK data showing an increasing rate of emotional disorders (Sadler et al., 2018), referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS; Grimm et al., 2022) and youth self-harm and suicide (Cybulski et al., 2021; Padmanathan, Bould, Winstone, Moran, & Gunnell, 2020) over this period.”
BackgroundRacial Disparities in Spatial and Temporal Youth Suicide Clusters
Platt, J., Pamplin, J. R., Gimbrone, C., Rutherford, C., Kandula, S., Olfson, M., Gould, M. S., Martínez-Alés, G., Shaman, J. L., & Keyes, K. M. (2022) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2021.12.012 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Young people's disclosure of suicidal thoughts and behavior: A scoping review
Davies, P., Veresova, M., Bailey, E., Rice, S., & Robinson, J. (2024) · Journal of Affective Disorders Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2024.100764 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Lee, H., Park, C. H. K., Rhee, S. J., Kim, B., Lee, S. S., Ha, K., Baik, C. J., & Ahn, Y. M. (2021) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152259 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Child Suicide Rates During the COVID-19 pandemic in EnglandPreprint
Odd, D., Williams, T. G. S., Appleby, L., et al. (2021) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2021.07.13.21260366 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationChoi, M., Sempungu, J. K., Lee, E. H., & Lee, Y. H. (2024) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjo.2024.26 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Cobb, C. L. (2022) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13703 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Hung, Y.-A., Liao, S., Chang, C., Chang, S., Yang, A. C., Chien, Y., Wu, C., & Gau, S. S. (2022) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291722003361 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Chen, Y., Chen, F., Wu, K. C., Lu, T., Chi, Y., & Yip, P. S. F. (2023) · SSM - Population Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101543 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“It is a significant public health concern that over the past decade, suicide rates in young people have significantly increased across several high-income countries (Chen et al., 2021; Padmanathan et al., 2020; Yang & Yip, 2021).”
BackgroundAssessment and management of self-harm and suicide risk in young people
Mughal, F., Ougrin, D., Stephens, L., Vijayakumar, L., & Kapur, N. (2024) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-073515 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Suicide After Contact With Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services—A National Registry Study
Astrup, H., Myhre, M. Ø., Kildahl, A. T., & Walby, F. A. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.886070 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
International trends in male youth suicide and suicidal behaviour
Rice, T., Livshin, A. D., Rihmer, Z., Walther, A., Bhuiyan, M., Bruges-Boude, A., Chen, Y., Gonda, X., Grossberg, A., Hassan, Y., et al. (2024) · Acta Neuropsychiatrica · doi:10.1017/neu.2024.37 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“An ecological study found that among 279 suicides in this population, common methods of suicides included ingestion of poisonous substances (50%, n = 140), hanging (35%, n = 97), and usage of firearms (7.5%, n = 22) (Imran et al ., 2022).”
InfluentialSuicide Behavior Among Vocational High School Students: The Role of School-Related Factors
Benatov, J., Klomek, A. B., & Chen‐Gal, S. (2021) · School Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s12310-021-09435-9 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Income disparity and suicide rates: evidence from countries
Sui, X., & Zhang, J. (2025) · Sociological Spectrum · doi:10.1080/02732173.2025.2493101 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Padmanathan et al. (2020) used data from 11 high-income countries and found that economic downturns and income inequality may be associated with an increase in adolescent suicides.”
Temporal trends in suicide related emergency calls by age group and gender from 2014 to 2023
Marco, M., Escobar-Hernández, P., Sánchez‐Sáez, F., López‐Quílez, A., Montagud-Andrés, M., Lila, M., & Enrique Gracia, A. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-07700-4 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Economic Downturns and Leisure in China
Pei, H., Ma, W., Vatsa, P., et al. (2021) · Applied Economics · doi:10.1080/00036846.2021.1966371 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“…increase unemployment rates, decrease mental health, generate income inequality, and increase suicide rates (Iglesias-García et al. 2017; Kamekis et al. 2020; Martínez-Jiménez and Vall Castelló 2020; Oyesanya, Lopez-Morinigo, and Dutta 2015; Padmanathan et al. 2020; Villani and Fana 2021).”
BackgroundTsomokos, D. I. (2026) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-025-02999-w · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“To understand the multitude of factors that may contribute to reported increases in prevalence rates [7], the relationship between social media use (SMU) and youth mental health has been examined in some detail [8–14], with affect outcomes.”
Odd, D., Stoianova, S., Williams, T. G. S., et al. (2025) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1004417 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Suicide in CYP has risen in many other countries over the last 10 years [20], and the results here may represent an existing trend, or an effect of the social restrictions [21].”
Nazif‐Muñoz, J. I., Pereira, C. C. M., Martínez, P., Gilani, V. N. M., & Domínguez-Cancino, K. A. (2024) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115729 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Promoting Protective Factors for Suicidal Behavior in Adolescents at Risk
Knappe, S., Aresin, M., Stephan, Y., Grosselli, L., Lewitzka, U., Bürger, A., e.V., W., & Hoyer, J. (2024) · Kindheit und Entwicklung · doi:10.1026/0942-5403/a000447 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Precarious Suicide Behavior According to Housing Price Gap: A Case Study on South Korea
Kang, S., Woo, H., & Koo, J.-H. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18189877 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Several studies have demonstrated statistically significant correlations between income inequality and suicide rates in specific cohorts [10,17,18].”
BackgroundA Worldwide Study of the Relationship Between Gini Coefficients and Suicide Rates
Lyu, J., Zhang, J., & Lamis, D. A. (2025) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph22071110 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Lyu, J., Ding, L., Zhou, Z., Zhang, Q., & Li, X. (2025) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1596682 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Suicide rates and institutional quality in an emerging country
Saad, G. (2022) · Journal of Global Responsibility · doi:10.1108/jgr-07-2021-0060 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Effect of the FDA Black Box Suicidality Warnings for Antidepressants on Suicide Rates in the USA
Plöderl, M., & Hengartner, M. P. (2021) · Crisis · doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000843 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
A panel data examination of income inequality in 24 African countries
Yadav, S., Antil, N., Gupta, D., et al. (2020) · Journal of Public Affairs · doi:10.1002/pa.2563 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Violent deaths among adolescents in Serbia: past, present and future
Lazarević, K., Dolicanin, Z. C., Stojanović, M., Bogdanović, D. C., & Milićević, S. (2021) · Central European Journal of Public Health · doi:10.21101/cejph.a6502 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Dimick, M. K., Goldstein, B. I., He, J.-P., & Merikangas, K. R. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.119882 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Suicide clustering and contagion: The role of the media
Benson, R., McTernan, N., Ryan, F., & Arensman, E. (2021) · Suicidologi/Nytt i suicidologi · doi:10.5617/suicidologi.9306 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Altaf, S., Mallinson, D. J., Park, M., & Richardson, L. E. (2025) · Substance Use & Misuse · doi:10.1080/10826084.2025.2466208 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Additionally, two macro-level culprits for declines in youth mental health over much of the study period—social media use and economic inequality (Padmanathan et al., 2020; Twenge et al., 2022)—are not captured in these analyses.”
Trend Using Da'wah Video through Social Media Applications among Indonesian Young Muslims
Subiyakto, A., Iswati, N., Ratnawati, S., et al. (2021) · International Conference on Cyber and IT Service Management (CITSM) · doi:10.1109/citsm52892.2021.9588941 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Factors behind suicides in Muslim countries: a global ecological study
Shoib, S., Tayyeb, M., Armiya’u, A. Y., Raaj, S., Elmahi, O. K. O., Swed, S., Saeed, F., Nahidi, M., Bashir, A., & Chandradasa, M. (2024) · Social Work in Mental Health · doi:10.1080/15332985.2024.2323040 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“This increase in suicide rates could be attributed to data collected following the global recession of 2008, during which suicide rates escalated in high-income countries worldwide, coinciding with an increase in income inequality (Padmanathan et al., 2020).”
ResultChild Mortality in England after the Pandemic. Increasing Mortality and InequalitiesPreprint
Odd, D., Stoianova, S., Williams, T. G. S., et al. (2024) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2024.05.24.24307855 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Economic Environment, Recessions, and Suicidal Behaviour
Souresrafil, A., Sheikhy‐Chaman, M., beigigallehzan, N. A., Mirzaei, M., & Rezaeian, M. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-96-4028-7_6 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Balt, E., Mérelle, S. Y. M., Vrinzen, S., Eikelenboom, M., Žerić, A., Wiggers, D., Gilissen, R., Creemers, D. H. M., & Popma, A. (2025) · BMJ Public Health · doi:10.1136/bmjph-2024-001651 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“In another study, Padmanathan et al 9 found that income inequality is an important contributing factor for increasing suicide rates in young people in high-income countries.”
Global trends in youth suicide
Padmanathan, P., Chang, S., Rajapakse, T. N., & Knipe, D. W. (2026) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.s4 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationLongitudinal association between income inequality and Canadian adults' psychological distress
Sharifi, V., Dimitropoulos, G., Bahji, A., Pedram, P., Williams, J. V. A., Bulloch, A. G., & Patten, S. B. (2026) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2026.121434 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Rescue Therapy in Pediatric Bupropion Cardiotoxicity
Olives, T. D., Sweat, C. N., Dorsey-Spitz, L., Bahadori-Esfahani, F., Arens, A. M., Cole, J. B., & Somani, A. (2024) · Journal of Pediatric Intensive Care · doi:10.1055/s-0044-1786769 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Jongeren en zelfdoding op het spoor. Een mixed-methods-onderzoek
Mérelle, S. Y. M., Balt, E., Schweren, L., van den Brand, I., van Eijk, N. L., Creemers, D. H. M., Popma, A., & Gilissen, R. (2023) · TSG - Tijdschrift voor gezondheidswetenschappen · doi:10.1007/s12508-023-00393-y
Forecasting National-Level Self-Harm Trends With Social Networks
Tuarob, S., Chatrinan, K., Noraset, T., Tawichsri, T., & Thaipisutikul, T. (2023) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2023.3289295
“nologies and literacy have fully propagated [64].”
The Mystery of Suicide Clusters
Mueller, A. S., & Abrutyn, S. B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190847845.003.0001
Coaching Generation Z: Necessity, challenges and opportunities
Hulbert‐Williams, L., Wilkinson, D., & Hulbert-Williams, N. (2024) · The Coaching Psychologist · doi:10.53841/bpstcp.2024.20.2.74
Ferguson, C. J. (2025) · Child & Youth Care Forum · doi:10.1007/s10566-025-09853-9
“Other analyses suggest that suicide is unrelated to social media use trends in a time series design but is associated with income inequality (Padmanathan et al., 2020).”
van Bergen, D. D., Looijmans, M., Balt, E., Rasing, S. P. A., Gilissen, R., Creemers, D. H. M., & Mérelle, S. Y. M. (2025) · Death Studies · doi:10.1080/07481187.2025.2491574
“…have seen an upward trend of the suicide rates of girls and young women in the past decades, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, (Bertuccio et al., 2024; Bould et al., 2019; Miron et al., 2019; Padmanathan et al., 2020; Stefanac et al., 2019; Varin et al., 2021).”
Income inequality and deaths of despair: a population-based study of 19 million Canadian adults
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“To date, most evidence demonstrating an association between income inequality and deaths of despair are derived predominantly from studies using ecological or case-control study designs, with few longitudinal investigations available [17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 , 25, 26].”
Ma, J., Zhang, X., Chen, S., Zhou, S., Ding, J., Deng, Y., Hu, J., Wang, F., Lu, Y., & Hu, S. (2025) · Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1265/ehpm.25-00057
“Economic recessions, growing social inequality, gambling, and increased drug dependency have all been linked to higher rates of self-harming behavior among young people [34].”
Utilisation d’internet comme équivalent de rêve ou régulation émotionnelle
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Suicidal Ideation Among Surgeons: A Mapping Review
Bhattacharya, K., Bhattacharya, S., Bhattacharya, N., Bhattacharya, N., Yagnik, V. D., Garg, P. K., & Pal, R. (2025) · Indian Journal of Surgery · doi:10.1007/s12262-025-04390-0
“Despite significant research, intervention programs, and awareness campaigns, suicide remains an intractable problem [32].”
齐, 晗. (2024) · Advances in Clinical Medicine · doi:10.12677/acm.2024.1492471
Youth Suicide Prevention Programs: An Update for Pediatricians
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Bahamondes-Álvarez, R., van Hulst, B. M., Lund, C., Nooteboom, L. A., Oehm, L. M., Woermann, E., & Vermeiren, R. R. J. M. (2026) · Community Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10597-026-01638-1
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The recent trend in youth suicide and its associated factors in South Korea: a time series analysis
Choi, M., Lee, Y. H., Ki, M., & Chang, S. (2026) · The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific · doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2026.101924
“8,9 However, these studies were limited in examining other factors that may potentially contribute to the recent increase in youth suicide in the Western Pacific region, such as mental health, academic, and violence-related factors.”
- Authors
- Padmanathan, P., Bould, H., Winstone, L., Moran, P., & Gunnell, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Gunnell, David
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-10
- Volume
- 275
- Pages
- 58-65
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7397515
- OpenAlex
- W3028381291
- Cited by
- 67
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 3.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- youth suicide, suicide trends, social media use, economic recession, income inequality, Gini coefficient, GDP per capita, young adults, high-income countries, risk factors
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Australia, Canada, Humans, Income, Socioeconomic Factors, Suicide, Developed Countries, Economic Recession, Social Media
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-08.
Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-08.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
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