What online searches in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic can tell us about resilience

June 11, 2020

As people around the world continue to cope with life changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health experts have been paying close attention to the impact the pandemic may be having on mental health and well being.

A new study by Canadian and international researchers investigating search terms related to suicide and resilience on the Google search engine during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, has found that searches for the word “suicide” decreased by 12 percent worldwide and by 17 percent in the United States, compared to previous years, pre-COVID-19. There were also fewer searches for related terms including “anxiety” and “hopelessness”.

Researchers also determined that there was an approximately 45 per cent increase in searches for the word “survival” worldwide and the U.S., as well as a rise in searches of “hope”, “resilience” and “how to survive” in the initial stages of the pandemic.

The study has been published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

“Pandemics, such as the COVID-19 outbreak can have a negative effect on mental health, which may influence suicide rates,” says Dr. Mark Sinyor, a psychiatrist and suicide prevention expert at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and lead author of this first study of its kind.

“The relationship between online searches and actual behaviour is complicated but there is at least some indication that suicide could diminish in the early phase of the pandemic,” explains Dr. Sinyor. “This could be, in part, due to a focus on society facing a shared threat and feeling a greater sense of belonging and purpose in survival, resilience and getting through the pandemic collectively.”

Researchers examined the early phase of the pandemic from March 1, 2020 to April 4, 2020, when worldwide cases of COVID-19 were being identified and the pandemic declared. Data from Google Trends for this time-period was compared with the study-defined “pre-COVID-19” period of April 5, 2015 to February 29, 2020, as weekly data on Google Trends are only available over a 5-year timeline.

“While future mortality data will identify any changes in suicide rates over the course of the pandemic, investigating other indicators, such as internet search trends, may be valuable for an early understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on suicide and in formulating an early public health response,” explains Dr. Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, study co-author and suicide research group lead at the Medical University of Vienna.

“Ultimately, efforts to promote resilience and belonging may help to protect vulnerable individuals in our society,” says Dr. Sinyor. “The most important message that we can send is that suicide is preventable and that we must encourage people contemplating suicide during the pandemic or at any other time to seek help.”

Media contact:
Jennifer Palisoc
Communications Advisor
416-480-4040
Jennifer.palisoc@sunnybrook.ca

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