# Suicide ideation of individuals in online social networks

**Authors:** Naoki Masuda, Issei Kurahashi, Hiroko Onari  
**arXiv:** [1207.0561](https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.0561)  
**Date:** 2012-07-03  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/1207.0561v3/

## Key points

- Suicide among adolescents in Japan and other countries is a leading cause of death in this age group.
- Social isolation is a contributing factor to suicidal behavior.
- Little research has explored the impact of social isolation within explicit social networks.
- Researchers analyzed a large dataset from a popular social networking service in Japan.
- Logistic regression analysis was used to identify user characteristics related or unrelated to social networks and their contribution to suicide ideation.
- Factors associated with suicide ideation include the number of communities a user belongs to, the presence of intransitivity, and the fraction of suicidal neighbors within the social network.
- Age and gender have minimal impact on suicide ideation.
- Similar results were observed for depressive symptoms, suggesting an overlap between suicidal tendencies and depression within online social networks.
- The study sheds light on the complex relationship between social networks and suicide ideation among adolescents.
- Findings can inform targeted interventions and support systems aimed at preventing youth suicides both in Japan and globally.

## Summary

The study focuses on the issue of suicide among adolescents in Japan and other countries, highlighting its status as a leading cause of death in this age group. While social isolation has been identified as a contributing factor to suicidal behavior, little research has explored the impact of social isolation within explicit social networks. To address this gap, the researchers analyzed a large dataset obtained from a popular social networking service in Japan. The dataset consisted of friendship connections between users, created through mutual endorsement. Using logistic regression analysis, the researchers aimed to identify user characteristics that were related or unrelated to social networks and their contribution to suicide ideation. Suicide ideation was defined as membership in at least one active user-defined community related to suicide. The findings revealed several significant factors associated with suicide ideation. The number of communities a user belonged to, the presence of intransitivity (i.e., few triangles including the user), and the fraction of suicidal neighbors within the social network were found to have the greatest influence on suicide ideation, in that order. Interestingly, characteristics such as age and gender had minimal impact on suicide ideation. Furthermore, similar results were observed for depressive symptoms, suggesting a potential overlap between suicidal tendencies and depression within online social networks. Overall, this study sheds light on the complex relationship between social networks and suicide ideation among adolescents by identifying specific network-related factors that contribute to suicidal thoughts. These findings can inform targeted interventions and support systems aimed at preventing youth suicides both in Japan and globally.