Internet has become an integral part of the life of millions of people in the Western countries and in the developing world. Millions of people search for mental health information on the Internet, and there is a lot. Multiple web sites offer a plethora of information on different topics. Recent research suggests that Internet may play a role in suicide prevention. At the same time, there is an increasing concern that Internet may promote suicidal behavior. Some authors call Internet a double-edge tool. Internet providers try to seek a balance between preventing Internet-arranged suicides and safeguarding freedom of expression. The relationship between Internet and suicide is perplex. Understanding the impact of Internet on suicidal behavior is an important challenge for future research. We hope that this book will contribute to this goal. We believe that this book will be of interest to clinicians, researchers, and the general public.

Publisher: Nova Science Publishers

Editors: Leo Sher and Alexander Vilens

Click here to view chapter abstracts.

Table of Contents:

Preface

Chapter 1. The Internet in suicide prevention and promotion
Jess G. Fiedorowicz, Raveendra B. Chigurupati.
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

Chapter 2. The Internet: Its role in the occurrence and prevention of suicide
Puneet Narang, Steven B. Lippmann.
Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Chapter 3. The advantages and the disadvantages of the Internet in preventing suicide
Kalmár Sándor.
County Hospital, Kecskemét, Hungary

Chapter 4. Web-based suicide prevention education: Innovations in research, training, and practice
Paul Quinnett, Aaron Baker.
QPR Institute, Spokane, Washington, USA

Chapter 5. Improving public health practice in suicide prevention through online training: A case example
Deborah M. Stone, Catherine W. Barber, Marc Posner.
Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Chapter 6. Internet resources for preventing suicide
Maurizio Pompili, David Lester, Marco Innamorati, Alberto Forte, Giulia Iacorossi, Giovanni Dominici, Roberto Tatarelli.
Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, New Jersey, USA; Università Europea di Roma, Italy

Chapter 7. Preventing suicide through the Internet
Marco Sarchiapone, Sanja Temnik, Vladimir Carli.
University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy; University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia

Chapter 8. Warning signs for suicide: Safe and effective information delivery online
Michael Mandrusiak.
Adler School of Professional Psychology, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Chapter 9. A potential source of data in understanding youth suicide – Instant Messages
Paul W.C.Wong, King-Wa Fu, Paul S.F. Yip.
Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China

Chapter 10. Internet and emerging suicide method. A case study of contagion of charcoal burning suicides via the Internet
King-Wa Fu, Paul W.C.Wong, Paul S.F. Yip.
Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China

Chapter 11. “I am so sick of this life”: A semiotic analysis of suicidal messages on the Internet
Itzhak Gilat, Yishai Tobin.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; The Israeli Association for Emotional First Aid, Israel

Chapter 12. The Internet and suicide pacts
Sundararajan Rajagopal.
South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Adamson Centre for Mental Health, St. Thomas’ Hospital, London, United Kingdom

Chapter 13. Internet as a healing or killing tool in youth suicide phenomenon
Milica Pejovic Milovancevic, Dusica Lecic Tosevski, Smiljka Popovic Deusic, Zagorka Bradic.
Institute of Mental Health, Belgrade, Serbia

Chapter 14. Exploring self-injury and suicide in relation to self-harm discussion groups on the Internet
Craig D. Murray, Jenny Shilton Osborne.
Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom

Chapter 15. “Across the street – not down the road” – staying alive through deliberate self-harm
Inger Ekman, Stig Söderberg.
Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

Chapter 16. Borderline personality, contagion, and the Internet
Randy A. Sansone, Lori A. Sansone.
Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio; Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, Ohio; Primary Care Clinic, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, USA

Chapter 17. Information for crisis intervention and suicide prevention resources for individuals with substance use disorders on the Internet
Barbara Schneider, Kristin Grebner.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Chapter 18. Effect of mass media on suicidal behavior in patients with psychotic disorders
Eduardo J. Aguilar, Soledad Jorge, Ana Rubio, Samuel G. Siris.
Clinical University Hospital, Valencia, Spain; Zucker-Hillside Hospital, North Shore – Long Island Jewish Health System. Glen Oaks, New York, USA

Chapter 19. The use of the Internet for research on suicides in the elderly
Ajit Shah.
University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom

Chapter 20. For better or for worse? Suicide and the Internet in world today
Wally Barr, Maria Leitner.
University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Chapter 21. Media suicide-reports, Internet use and the incidence of suicides in Japan
Akihito Hagihara, Takeru Abe.
Kyushu University Graduate School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan

Chapter 22. Internet-associated suicide in Japan
Masahito Hitosugi
Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Tochigi, Japan

Chapter 23. Hard-to-reach populations and stigmatized topics: Internet-based mental health research for Japanese men who are gay, bisexual, or questioning their sexual orientation
Yasuharu Hidaka, Don Operario.
Kansai University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Awaji, Japan; Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Chapter 24. Suicide in China in the era of the Internet
Samuel Law, XueZhu Huang.
University of Toronto, Canada; Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Chapter 25. Internet communication about assisted or “Rational” suicide: Legal and ethical considerations for practice
Thomas J. Rankin, Elena S. Yakunina, Jessica Richmond Moeller, James L. Werth, Jr.
The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA; Radford University, Radford, Virginia, USA

Chapter 26. Can suicide be quantified and categorized?
Said Shahtahmasebi.
The Good Life Research Centre Trust, Rangiora. North Canterbury, New Zealand

Chapter 27. Mental illness and suicide
Jiunn Yew Thong.
Institute of Mental Health, Singapore

Chapter 28. The concept of post-traumatic mood disorder, suicidal behavior in war veterans and possible use of Internet-based therapies in the treatment of war veterans with posttraumatic mood disorder
Leo Sher.
Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA

Chapter 29. Internet Suicide Phenomenon in Japan
Masahito Fushimi.
Akita Prefectural Mental Health & Welfare Center, Akita City, Japan

Index