Social Media and Suicidal Behaviour - Study 1

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

NCT Number	NCT06255171
Lead Sponsor	University of Primorska Collaborators: Slovenian Research Agency
Conditions	Suicidal Behaviour
Enrollment	62 participants
Start Date	2023-12-01
Primary Completion	2024-08-12 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-10 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2024-12-19