Exploring mental health and violence narratives on X
Insights from social media data
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15294358 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jaroslav Rokicki (0000-0003-3258-1674, Oslo University Hospital, corresponding author), Christine Friestad (0000-0001-8393-1211, Oslo University Hospital), Unn Kristin Haukvik (Oslo University Hospital), Catherine P Bradshaw (0000-0003-2048-3225, University of Virginia), Catherine D Bradshaw (0000-0003-4305-380X, University of Virginia), Ali Unlu (0000-0003-0140-7761, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-07 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Critical Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0958-1596 • E-ISSN: 1469-3682 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09581596.2025.2612449 |
| OpenAlex | W7118888455 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
Social media platforms offer a dynamic space for monitoring public discourse on societal issues, including mental health and violence (MHV). The purpose of this study is to examine how MHV is framed in public conversations on X in the Norwegian context over a ten-year period. We collected 5,468 unique Norwegian-language tweets from 2,500 authors using 103 search terms related to MHV (January 2015–May 2024). Tweets were retrieved with twarc, and BERTopic was used to generate topic embeddings, identifying 21 topics. To increase keyword diversity, maximal marginal relevance and KeyBERT was used to identify extract representative terms. Topics were grouped and interpreted through qualitative thematic analysis. The analyses revealed that 33% of tweets explicitly discussed the association between MHV. These discussions were predominantly event-driven, with activity spiking following high-profile incidents involving individuals with mental health conditions. A small group of highly active users dominated, emphasizing systemic failures over individual blame and maintaining a constructive tone. Stigmatizing language appeared in political contexts, where MHV terms served to delegitimize opponents. This study highlights discourse on MHV and underscores the need for advocacy groups to use platforms like X to counter stigma, provide accurate information, and promote nuanced conversations
Blame · Constructive · Context (archaeology · Mainstream · Mental health · Narrative · Public health · Relevance (law · Social media · Thematic analysis · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Mental Health via Writing
Ggplot2
Probabilistic topic models
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Should each of us take over the role as watcher?’ Attitudes on Twitter towards the 2014 Norwegian terror alert
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Introduction-Topic models
Public discourse on mental health and psychiatry
Trustworthiness Over Time on Twitter
Thematic Analysis
| Highly cited | No |
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