Media Suicide-Reports, Internet use and the Occurrence of Suicides Between 1987 and 2005 in Japan

The relationship between newspaper articles about suicide, Internet use, & the incidence of suicide in Japan was examined. A linear model was fitted to time series data from January 1987-March 2005. Consistent with previous findings, the number of newspaper articles about suicide was a predictor of suicide among both male & female subjects. Internet use was also a predictor of suicide among males, probably because males spent more time online than females. Further research is required to verify the findings of this study. (35 refs.)