The Internet – a new Source of Data on Suicide, Depression and Anxiety: a Preliminary Study

On the internet, self-help newsgroups of suicidal, depressive & anxious people were investigated in a 3-month period. After analyzing the content of their letters & comparing the suicide ideator group with all other groups, the author tried to find characteristic differences among them. Using the Weintraub technique of content analysis, the negatives & dichotomous structures were found to be the strongest differentiating verbal categories among the groups in both sexes. Possibilities for approaching internet populations are also discussed. (24 refs)