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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV1334

Behind the screen: deliberate self-harm trends among patients at a tertiary hospital in Sri Lanka and the Werther effect of social media

BEHIND THE SCREEN: UNRAVELLING THE TRENDS OF DELIBERATE SELF-HARM AND WERTHER EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG PATIENTS AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN SRI LANKA

Among those presenting with deliberate self-harm, 91% had been exposed to self-harm or suicide content in the media, and social media use exceeding 5 hours per day was significantly associated with imitation of the observed behavior.

The aim was to generate local evidence on the association between exposure to such content and presumed imitative behavior (the Werther effect), against a backdrop of increasing social media use and deliberate self-harm (DSH) in Sri Lanka. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka between June and December 2022; 162 participants presenting following an episode of deliberate self-harm completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire covering demographic information, history of self-harm, the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI), and social media exposure. Of the participants, 59.8% were female; 50% were aged 20–29 years, 26% were under 20, and ethnic and religious minority groups were overrepresented in the sample. The most common method of self-harm was medication overdose (51.9%); 43% had a previous self-harm attempt, 78.4% reported interpersonal conflict as the reason, and 13% had a diagnosed mental illness. Of the participants, 91% had been exposed to self-harm or suicide content in the media; social media use exceeding 1 hour per day significantly increased exposure to this content, while use exceeding 5 hours per day significantly increased imitation of the behavior. Deliberately seeking such content was associated with a greater likelihood of imitation, and approximately 30% reported a severe emotional impact (associations were significant at p<0.05). Only 15 participants (6.1%) reported active or passive suicidal ideation on the BSSI, and ongoing suicidal ideation was inversely associated with exposure to self-harm content. In conclusion, excessive social media use was associated with greater exposure to self-harm content, severe emotional impact, and presumed imitative behavior; content moderation, digital and mental health literacy, and supportive online communities were recommended.

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