First Identification of the Association Between Domestic Youth Search Patterns and Suicide Mortality

Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital Professor Choi Won-seok's Team
'Dropout' Search Volume Closely Linked to Youth Suicide

A study has found that the internet search volume for 'dropout' among domestic adolescents is closely related to suicide. This is significant as it is the first study to identify the correlation between adolescents' search patterns and suicide deaths.

The research team led by Professor Choi Won-seok from the Department of Psychiatry at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University (including Professor Hong Hyun-joo from the Department of Psychiatry at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, corresponding author) analyzed the association between anonymized suicide death data of 13-18-year-old adolescents who died in Korea from January 2016 to December 2020 and the search volumes of 26 suicide- and self-harm-related keywords extracted from Naver 'Data Lab,' the team announced on the 9th.

Choi Won-seok, Professor of Psychiatry at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital.

First, differences in search patterns between males and females were observed. Females showed a higher correlation between suicide, self-harm, and suicide risk factor-related terms (such as grades and school violence). In other words, female adolescents tended to search for self-harm-related terms together when searching for suicide-related terms more prominently.

In particular, regarding the association between internet search volume and suicide deaths, the search volume for 'dropout' was correlated with suicide deaths among male and female adolescents as well as the overall population. The time gap between changes in dropout search volume and actual adolescent suicide deaths was very short. The time lag with the highest correlation between adolescent suicide deaths and search volume was zero days for males, females, and the total population.

Additionally, for female adolescents, search volumes related to 'self-harm' and 'grades' showed an association with suicide deaths. Overall, 'self-harm' and 'suicide methods' search volumes exhibited a high correlation. Conversely, the search volume for 'depression' did not show a correlation with suicide, which the research team interpreted as partially reflecting the effects of national suicide prevention policies.

Professor Choi Won-seok explained, "This study utilized data from the top internet search engine in Korea, which can be seen as relatively accurately reflecting the domestic reality," adding, "Pre-assessment of suicidal ideation or suicide risk could help prevent suicide among domestic students considering dropout." He continued, "Suicide is the leading cause of death among people in their teens and twenties in Korea, and since the COVID-19 pandemic, issues such as increased depression, loneliness, and smartphone and internet addiction among students have risen, so more attention must be paid to adolescent mental health recently."

This study was published in the recent issue of the international journal in digital healthcare and medical informatics, Journal of Medical Internet Research (IF 7.077).

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