Suicidal ideation and social media: how content of suicide-related threat affects recognition, threat appraisal, and willingness to intervene with suicidal users

Hendley, T., Starkey, A., Trahan, K., Rivers, A., Cacace, S. C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0419-4506 and Hill, R. M. (2026) Suicidal ideation and social media: how content of suicide-related threat affects recognition, threat appraisal, and willingness to intervene with suicidal users. Death Studies. ISSN 1091-7683 doi: 10.1080/07481187.2026.2646869

Abstract/Summary

Suicide remains a public health concern, and social media platforms have become spaces where suicidal thoughts and behaviors are expressed and observed. This research examines how young adults interpret and respond to suicide-related content on social media. In Study 1 (N = 709), participants viewed mock posts and identified those indicating suicidality; 77% were accurately recognized, particularly those with photos of lethal means. However, 23% of suicidal posts were missed, revealing detection gaps. Study 2 (N = 722) used a within-subjects design to examine how post features (e.g., explicit language, temporal immediacy, and photo inclusion) influence threat appraisal and intervention. Posts were perceived more high risk when they included such factors. Additionally, participants were more likely to report a willingness to engage in indirect responses than direct intervention. Findings emphasize the importance of multimodal cues in online risk detection and the need for interventions that promote effective digital bystander responses.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129165
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/07481187.2026.2646869
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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