Rethinking suicide related searches and their association with suicide rates, attempts, and self harm hospitalisation

This study explored the relationship between Google search volumes for suicide-related keywords and suicide, attempt, and self-harm hospitalisation rates across three investigations in Indonesia and Australia. While past research suggested a link between suicide-related searches and suicide rates, this study found no consistent association with suicide rates. However, search volumes were positively associated with suicide attempts in Indonesia and self-harm hospitalisations in Australia. Further analysis using the IMV-Model of Suicidal Behaviour showed that searches related to distress were not associated with outcomes, while ideation-related keywords were linked only to attempts. In contrast, searches related to specific suicide methods—reflecting the volitional phase of the IMV-Model—were associated with both attempts and suicides, particularly for high-lethality methods. Limitations include data quality on suicide outcomes, the representativeness of Google Trends, and a focus on only two countries. Overall, search behaviour may reflect attempt risk more than suicide risk, depending on keyword category.