Suicide Reporting Content Analysis: Abstract Development and Reliability

This study developed a content analytic strategy to code features in media suicide reports presumed to be influential in suicide contagion & determined the interrater reliability of the qualitative characteristics abstracted from the newspaper stories. A random subset of 151 articles from a database of 1851 stories published btween 1988-1996 were studied. Results show that while the majority of variables in the content analysis were very reliable, the reliability of complicated constructs, such as sensationalizing, were comparatively low. Further explication of suicide story constructs is necessary to ensure the implementation & compliance of responsible media reporting. (55 refs.)