Perception of depressive and suicide memes with different types of punchlines by persons with low or high suicide risk

Background: To date, there is no consensus among mental health professionals about the impact of depressive and suicide humour on the wellbeing of Internet users. While some researchers point to its beneficial effects (lifting one’s mood and creating a sense of community), others state that it may carry the risk of reinforcing stigma. In both cases scholars discuss depressive humour as a homogenous phenomenon, which is hardly the case. The study aimed at investigating the diversity of depressive and suicide humour and individuals’ perceptions of it depending on their level of suicide risk. Methods: We selected humorous Internet memes related to depression and suicide with 3 different types of punchlines: 1) “the idea of depression/suicide”, 2) “negative attitudes towards a depressed/suicidal person”, 3) “alternative to depression/suicide”. In an online survey 520 participants rated the memes using three scales: “funniness”, “comprehensibility”, “aversiveness”. Psychometric measures and sociodemographic information were used for assessing participants’ suicide risk levels. Results: Participants with higher suicide risk assessed the memes with “the idea of depression/suicide” punchline as the funniest in the set and those with “negative attitudes towards a depressed/suicidal person” punchline – as the most aversive. While people with lower suicide risk seem to enjoy both types of humour equally, suicidal individuals are more sensitive in noticing these differences. In turn, the memes depicting alternatives to depression/suicide were perceived as the least funny and comprehensible by the participants regardless of their suicide risk level. Conclusions: Depressive/suicide humour is not a homogenous phenomenon; perceptions of a depressive/suicide meme depend on the specifics of its punchline; an individual’s level of suicide risk affects their preferences regarding specific punchlines.