Archives of Suicide Research ISSN: 1381-1118 (Print) 1543-6136 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/usui20 Public Response to Suicide News Reports as Reflected in Computerized Text Analysis of Online Reader Comments G. Rosen, H. Kreiner & Y. Levi-Belz To cite this article: G. Rosen, H. Kreiner & Y. Levi-Belz (2019): Public Response to Suicide News Reports as Reflected in Computerized Text Analysis of Online Reader Comments, Archives of Suicide Research, DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2018.1563578 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2018.1563578 Accepted author version posted online: 13 Jan 2019. Published online: 26 Feb 2019. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 42 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=usui20 Archives of Suicide Research, 0:1–17, 2019 # 2019 International Academy for Suicide Research ISSN: 1381-1118 print/1543-6136 online DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2018.1563578 Public Response to Suicide News Reports as Reflected in Computerized Text Analysis of Online Reader Comments G. Rosen , H. Kreiner, and Y. Levi-Belz Previous research has documented the rise in rates of suicidal behaviors following media reports of celebrity suicide. Whereas most research has focused on documenting and analyzing suicide rates, little is known about more subtle psychological effects of celebrity suicide on the public, such as despair and feelings of abandonment. The Internet has revolu- tionized the responses to news reports, enabling immediate and anonymous responses potentially reflecting these psychological processes. Thus, the current study explored the unique psychological impact of a celebrity suicide on the public by analyzing the big data of readers' comments to suicide news reports, using computational linguistics meth- ods. Readers’ comments (N ¼ 14,506) to suicide news reports were retrieved from 4 leading online news sites. The comments were posted in response to 1 of 1 types of reports: a celebrity suicide (Robin Williams), a non-celebrity suicide, and general reports of suicide as a social phenomenon. LIWC software for computerized linguistic analysis was used to calculate the frequency of the various types of words used. Comparison of the responses to the 3 types of suicide reports revealed higher frequency of first-person pronouns and for emotionally charged wordsoncommentstoacelebritysuicide,comparedwithcommentsto the other types of suicide reports. The findings suggest that celebrity sui- cide news reports evoke the expression of positive emotions, possibly related to the venerated celebrity, alongside negative, internalized emo- tions, and feelings of social isolation. Theoretical, practical, and meth- odological implications are discussed. Keywords big data linguistic analysis, celebrity suicide, LIWC, online reader comments, Robin Williams 1 Public Response to Suicide News Reports INTRODUCTION According to the vertical identification theory (Stack, 1990), individuals tend to Suicide is one of the leading causes of death identify with those of higher status, such worldwide, with more than 800,000 people as celebrities. Thus, celebrities' actions dying by suicide annually (WHO [World may modulate cognitive processes and Health Organization], 2014). One of the arouse emotional responses among mem- major proximal risk factors for suicide is bers of society (see also Bandura & imitation (Mann et al., 2005;Cheng, Huston, 1961). However, the public’s Hawton, Lee, & Chen, 2007). The rise in expression of subtle social, emotional, and rates of suicidal behaviors following media cognitive psychological responses to reportsofsuicidehasbeentermedthe reports of celebrity suicide in the media is Werther effect (Phillips, 1974), alluding to unclear. The current study addressed this the high rates of suicidal attempts following issue by analyzing users' responses, as the publication of Goethe’srenowned reflected in online readers’ comments to book, The Sorrows of Young Werther. suicide news reports. Our goal was to Imitation of suicidal behavior has been cal- explore the subtle emotional effects that culated to be 14.3 times more likely to celebrity suicide may have on the public occur following reports of celebrity suicide, and its relationship to the Werther and compared with a non-celebrity suicide Papageno effects. (Stack, 2000), and Niederkrotenthaler et al. The Internet has revolutionized media (2012) found this surge to be especially consumption, opened new channels for characteristic of the month immediately fol- news reporting, and created opportunities lowing the suicide. While most of the for the public to express opinions and celebrity suicide studies have focused on the emotions instantly, through readers’ com- increasing suicide rates subsequent to the ments (Bergstr€om & Wadbring, 2015). suicide (Koburger et al., 2015; The vast volume of online comments can Niederkrotenthaler et al., 2012;Pirkis, be considered the big data of the public's Burgess, Francis, Blood, & Jolley, 2006), response to any transpiring event. These more subtle psychological processes, such as raw data waiting to be harvested offers mental pain, despair, and feelings of aban- novel opportunities for a wide spectrum of donment that may be linked to these research fields. Recent studies suggest that reports have been only rarely investigated. the immediacy and anonymity of online Recently, Niederkrotenthaler et al. reader comments facilitate attaining (2010) asserted that media stories about authentic insight into people's opinions suicide may also have a protective impact, and emotions (Back et al., 2010; Henrich conceptualized as the Papageno effect, a ref- &Holmes,2013). Hence, several studies erence to a character from Mozart’s opera, have investigated the public’s reaction to The Magic Flute (Sisask & V€arnik, 2012). suicide by analyzing readers’ comments to This effect was found in media stories online suicide news reports. Most studies with a focus on suicidal ideation unaccom- used human raters to evaluate readers’ panied by a suicide attempt or completed responses (Sisask, Mark, & V€arnik, 2012; suicide. Thus, it would be useful to also Sisask, Varnick, & Wasserman, 2005). examine the possible protective impact of While this approach may help detect spon- media reports on celebrity suicide on the taneous public cognitions and emotions general population. toward suicide, the use of subjective 2 VOLUME 0 NUMBER 0 2019 G. Rosen et al. ratings to analyze and classify readers’ Psychological analysis of the text is based comments to specific content and emo- on interpretation of the relative counts of tional themes may constrain the objectivity various word categories. For example, a of the results. Novel algorithms based on high percentage of singular compared with computational linguistics offer a more plural first-person pronouns may be indica- objective tool for text analysis. These com- tive of social isolation and lack of social puterized tools also allow big-data analysis support (Cohn, Mehl, & Pennebaker, of online users’ behavior that may be more 2004). Based on analyses of different texts, informative, economical, and reliable. including personal diaries, college assign- ments, chat rooms, and online commun- Linguistic Analysis ities (Pennebaker & King, 1999; Nguyen et al., 2017;Stone&Pennebaker,2002), The notion of linguistic analysis as a LIWC was evaluated and further developed window on psychological processes can be to expand the number of categories and traced back to Freud's notion of the slip- attain a better understanding of the rela- of-the-tongue phenomenon (Freud, 1917). tionship between word categories and spe- This notion was later developed into for- cific psychological dimensions (for a mal projective tests (e.g., Rorschach Test), review, see Tausczik & Pennebaker, 2010). derived from the assumption that con- Most relevant to the current research scious and subconscious psychological are studies utilizing LIWC to analyze texts processes, including thoughts, intentions, written by individuals who died by suicide emotions, and motivations are projected (Barnes, Lawal-Solarin, & Lester, 2007; onto neutral, ambiguous stimuli (Mihura Egnoto & Griffin, 2016; Gunn & Lester, & Meyer, 2015; Murray, 1943) and can 2012; Handelman & Lester, 2007;Li, be interpreted by analyzing the verbal con- Chau, Yip, & Wong, 2014; Lightman, tent. Aiming to develop a more objective McCarthy, Dufty, & McNamara, 2007; way to analyze verbal content, Weintraub Stirman & Pennebaker, 2001). These (1989) used word counts and demon- studies revealed typical linguistic patterns strated the association between counts of of suicidal individuals. For example, different pronouns and depression. Stirman and Pennebaker (2001) showed Building on developments in compu- that texts of poets who died by suicide are tational linguistics, Tausczik and characterized by higher rates of first-person Pennebaker (2010) developed the singular words, such as “I” and “me,” Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count compared with texts of non-suicidal poets (LIWC), a computerized software for psy- over their careers. Interestingly, online dis- chological-linguistic analysis of large cussions of celebrity suicide cases show amounts of text. The LIWC software is some similarity to these patterns. In a based on a dictionary, in which every word study examining such discussions, Kumar, was classified by human judges into one or Dredze,