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Portrayal of mental illness and suicide in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations.

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Title: Portrayal of mental illness and suicide in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations.
Authors: Lyons, Julia (AUTHOR), McNaught, Gayle (AUTHOR), Paton, Elizabeth (AUTHOR), Morgan, Amy J. (AUTHOR), Benson, Melinda (AUTHOR), Ross, Anna M. (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Mental Health. Feb2026, Vol. 35 Issue 1, p4-13. 10p.
Subjects: Press associations, Social media, Bipolar disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Research funding, Mental illness, Content analysis, Logistic regression analysis, Descriptive statistics, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Odds ratio, Self-mutilation, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Suicide, Research methodology, Statistics, Medical coding, Data analysis software, Confidence intervals, Inter-observer reliability, Social stigma, Mental depression
Geographic Terms: Australia
Abstract: Background: Trends in news being increasingly accessed via social media warrants more attention to how mental illness and suicide news is being communicated on social platforms, which have the potential to amplify or mitigate stigma in wider audiences. Aims: This study aimed to determine how mental illness and suicide are portrayed in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations, and examine engagement trends with these posts. Method: A systematic search of 22 Australian news Facebook pages was conducted on Meta's CrowdTangle database for posts about mental illness or suicide over a 1-year period. Results: Of the 1343 Facebook news posts identified, over half (55%) comprised "helpful" content. News posts featuring people with lived experience were the most common topics with helpful content, however harmful content was still prominent. Problematic content in news posts often included sensationalist, trivialising, or "suffering" language, and stigmatising or sensationalist quotes. Public engagement with news posts did not differ based on alignment with media guidelines. Conclusions: There is substantial room for improvement in how mental illness and suicide-related news is communicated on social media. Ensuring this aligns with responsible media guidelines will reduce public exposure to content that can perpetuate stigma and increase harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Mental Health is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Portrayal of mental illness and suicide in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lyons%2C+Julia%22">Lyons, Julia</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22McNaught%2C+Gayle%22">McNaught, Gayle</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paton%2C+Elizabeth%22">Paton, Elizabeth</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Morgan%2C+Amy+J%2E%22">Morgan, Amy J.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Benson%2C+Melinda%22">Benson, Melinda</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ross%2C+Anna+M%2E%22">Ross, Anna M.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Mental+Health%22">Journal of Mental Health</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 35 Issue 1, p4-13. 10p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Press+associations%22">Press associations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+media%22">Social media</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bipolar+disorder%22">Bipolar disorder</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Post-traumatic+stress+disorder%22">Post-traumatic stress disorder</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+illness%22">Mental illness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Content+analysis%22">Content analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Logistic+regression+analysis%22">Logistic regression analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anxiety%22">Anxiety</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Schizophrenia%22">Schizophrenia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Odds+ratio%22">Odds ratio</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-mutilation%22">Self-mutilation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Obsessive-compulsive+disorder%22">Obsessive-compulsive disorder</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Suicide%22">Suicide</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+methodology%22">Research methodology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistics%22">Statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+coding%22">Medical coding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confidence+intervals%22">Confidence intervals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inter-observer+reliability%22">Inter-observer reliability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+stigma%22">Social stigma</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+depression%22">Mental depression</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Australia%22">Australia</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background: Trends in news being increasingly accessed via social media warrants more attention to how mental illness and suicide news is being communicated on social platforms, which have the potential to amplify or mitigate stigma in wider audiences. Aims: This study aimed to determine how mental illness and suicide are portrayed in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations, and examine engagement trends with these posts. Method: A systematic search of 22 Australian news Facebook pages was conducted on Meta's CrowdTangle database for posts about mental illness or suicide over a 1-year period. Results: Of the 1343 Facebook news posts identified, over half (55%) comprised "helpful" content. News posts featuring people with lived experience were the most common topics with helpful content, however harmful content was still prominent. Problematic content in news posts often included sensationalist, trivialising, or "suffering" language, and stigmatising or sensationalist quotes. Public engagement with news posts did not differ based on alignment with media guidelines. Conclusions: There is substantial room for improvement in how mental illness and suicide-related news is communicated on social media. Ensuring this aligns with responsible media guidelines will reduce public exposure to content that can perpetuate stigma and increase harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Mental Health is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=191459196
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/09638237.2025.2528187
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 10
        StartPage: 4
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Press associations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social media
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bipolar disorder
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Post-traumatic stress disorder
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental illness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Content analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Logistic regression analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Anxiety
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Schizophrenia
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Odds ratio
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-mutilation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Obsessive-compulsive disorder
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Suicide
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Medical coding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Confidence intervals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Inter-observer reliability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social stigma
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental depression
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Australia
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Portrayal of mental illness and suicide in Facebook posts by Australian news organisations.
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            NameFull: Lyons, Julia
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            NameFull: McNaught, Gayle
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            NameFull: Paton, Elizabeth
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            NameFull: Morgan, Amy J.
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            NameFull: Benson, Melinda
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              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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