Resource Tag: MEDIA COVERAGE. FICTION

The present study analyzes 293 findings from 42 studies on the effect of media reports of suicide on actual rates, which were published between 1974 & 1996. A logistic regression analysis determined that characteristics of the stories were key predictors of finding a copycat effect. Celebrity suicides, stories based on real events, & the newspaper […]

These letters to the editor are in response to Hawton & WilliamsÕ (2002) article on the influence of media on suicide. The researchers concur with Hawton & Williams about clinical evidence that suicide representation in the media has an effect on suicide rates in the broadcasting area. Studies that demonstrate a similar effect between the […]

For the original article by K Hawton et al, please see SIEC #2001-0638

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The association between the portrayal of suicide in fictional media & actual suicide has been debated since 1774, when it was asserted that Goethe’s “The Sorrows of Young Werther” had led people to take their own lives. Since that time, a plethora of studies considering the association have been conducted. This review considered 34 studies […]

Nineteenth-century medical literature often admonished the popular press to limit reports of suicide because of a belief that knowledge of another’s suicide could stimulate some persons to kill themselves. An 1837 case report is discussed because it presciently clarifies the concept of psychological sensitization. Its study leads to documentation of 2 examples of falsified death […]

This article investigates the influence of a televised suicide attempt on the rates of suicide attempts & completions in London. Descriptions of the program & method of suicide attempt are presented. Statistics indicate that there was a considerable increase in the number of patients presenting with suicidal behavior to casualty the week after the broadcast. […]

This review explores the influence on suicide of the print & electronic media, & considers both real & fictional deaths. The conclusion appears inescapable that reports about celebrities which are multi-modal, repeated, explicit, front page, glorify the suicide, & describe the method lead to an increase in suicides, particularly in the region in which reports […]

A film about 2 teenagers who commit suicide was shown to 3 groups of psychiatric inpatient: 17 suicide attempters, 20 suicide ideators & 10 who were not suicidal. Anxiety before & after the film was evaluated with psychometric & physiological tools. Attempters had significantly lower postscreening heart rates & a significantly lesser change in heart […]

Using a nationwide sample of cases of suicide, the author found no evidence for increased numbers of suicide after broadcast of 3 films which depicted suicide. Some support was found for an imitative effect specific to the depiction of a suicide method in 1 of the films. The extent to which fictional depictions of suicide […]

This magazine article describes the results of a German study which documents an increase in teenage suicide after the broadcasting of a TV miniseries focusing on a teenage railway suicide. The higher rate continued up to 16 weeks after the broadcast. The researchers speculate as to whether the increased suicide rate in younger age groups […]

The author discusses the growth of adolescent suicide clusters. He outlines numerous clusters, including the deaths of 4 Bergenfield, New Jersey teens who killed themselves in 1987. He describes the effect of this 1987 incident in promoting other suicides. He provides the results of research by David Phillips & others on the impact of media […]

A recent study reports a significant increase in teenage suicides after television newscasts about suicide during 1973-1979 & suggests the increase might have resulted from imitation. In the present study, the authors found no significant association between the two events over the period 1973-1984. Although teenage suicide increased after newscasts in 1973-1980, the authors explain […]

60 college volunteers were given measures of arousal & agreement with pro-aggression & pro-suicide statements, before & after viewing 1 of 3 films: a film about suicide, a violent film, or a film with no violence or suicide. The first 2 films heightened arousal, & all films resulted in slightly less agreement with pro-aggression. Changes […]

This chapter focuses on newspaper publicity, epidemics of suicidal behaviour, & suicide pacts. The effects of newspaper strikes, newspaper publicity, & soap opera suicides on suicide rates are examined. Several studies which have researched the role of imitative behaviour in suicide epidemics are reviewed. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of suicide pacts & […]

This edited book is divided into 4 sections. Section 1 deals with general aspects of suicide. Section 2 is on the relationship between attitudes toward suicide & suicidal behaviour, while Section 3 presents information on caregiver’s attitudes towards suicide & suicidal patients. The final section discusses mass media & suicide.

Following a review of existing studies & a discussion of the methodological prerequisites for testing the imitation hypothesis, the authors discuss their study of the effect of a television movie, broadcast twice, that includes the suicide of a young man. Findings suggest that it lasts much longer than a number of days after the perception […]

A 6-week serial showing the railway suicide of a 19-year-old male student was broadcast twice & provided an experimental ABABA design to investigate differential effects of suicide imitation. These were most clearly observable in groups whose age & sex was closest to that of the model. Imitation effects remained detectable for longer periods in these […]

This paper focuses on the processes by which one suicide becomes a compelling model for successive suicides or facilitates other suicides. Two bodies of literature are reviewed: (1) reports of suicide epidemics or clusters for evidence of contagion & possible mechanisms & (2) research on the effects of suicide stories in the mass media. The […]

A brief news item about a recent study conducted in California & Pennsylvania to determine the effect of viewing 3 televised films about suicide on adolescent suicide rates. Contrary to an earlier New York study, researchers found no effect on suicide rates. (NBB)

Earlier research by the authors suggested that television broadcasts of fictional suicides led to an increase in adolescent suicidal behavior. This study extends the examinination to other geographic areas. Results indicate that the impact of such broadcasts is less widespread than originally proposed. Suicides increased in the New York & Cleveland regions but not in […]

This article examines school-based prevention programs to determine if they reach those at risk & which ones can be safely put into practice. Considers the likelihood that such programs could have the same negative effect as television coverage. Even experts who differ on other aspects agree on the following steps for schools when instituting a […]