The Press Coverage of Celebrity Suicide and the Development of Suicide Frequencies in Germany

The existence of the so-called “Werther effect” is well confirmed, and there are several recommendations on how the media should (not) report suicide to minimize the risk of copycat behavior. Unfortunately, very little is known about how suicide is actually reported. The article examines the German press coverage of six celebrity suicides with respect to compliance with guidelines on suicide reporting and analyzes changes in suicides in the wake of the reporting. It concludes that German media do not respect the recommendations in a substantial number of their articles. In addition, a significant increase in suicides and similar suicides is found.     

Clustering of suicides under age 20--seasonal trends and the influence of newspaper reports]

The existence of temporal clustering of suicides was analyzed by comparing the distribution of weekly numbers of suicides under age 20 in Japan (1982-1987) with a Poisson distribution. The linkage between newspaper reports about teenage suicides and these clusters of suicides was examined in an ecologic study. The following results were obtained: 1) The distribution of weekly numbers of suicides under age 20 was not consistent with a Poisson distribution. The observed numbers for weeks with clustering was higher than the expected numbers. Therefore it is suspected that teenage suicides was not an independent occurrence but clustered in specific weeks with clustering observed in April and between the 15th and 25th weeks in 1986. 2) The age and sex characteristics of those who committed suicide during the observed clusters every April did not differ from that of suicide victims for the rest of the year. The incidence ratio for suicide between 15th and 25th weeks in 1986 compared to the same period for other years was higher in girls than in boys, and higher in younger teenagers than older teenagers. Analysis by prefecture of suicides which occurred between the 15th and 25th weeks in 1986 showed high incidences for Hokkaido, Tohoku, Chugoku, and Shikoku blocks, and low incidences for the Kanto and Kinki blocks. 3) Twenty news articles reporting teenage suicides with headings much larger than four columns appeared in the Asahi Newspaper in 1982-87. Significant linkage between newspaper reports about teenage suicides and trend of weekly numbers of suicides in 1985 and 1986 was not observed. 4) Weekly numbers of suicides significantly increased following newspaper reports on January 23rd 1985 and on April 8th 1986, describing a suicide caused by battering, and a jumping suicide of a young singer who was popular among teenagers, respectively. However no increase in the number of suicides was observed following other newspaper reports.     

Does cyberbullying impact youth suicidal behaviors?

Even though several youth fatal suicides have been linked with school victimization, there is lack of evidence on whether cyberbullying victimization causes students to adopt suicidal behaviors. To investigate this issue, I use exogenous state-year variation in cyberbullying laws and information on high school students from the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey within a bivariate probit framework, and complement these estimates with matching techniques. I find that cyberbullying has a strong impact on all suicidal behaviors: it increases suicidal thoughts by 14.5 percentage points and suicide attempts by 8.7 percentage points. Even if the focus is on statewide fatal suicide rates, cyberbullying still leads to significant increases in suicide mortality, with these effects being stronger for men than for women. Since cyberbullying laws have an effect on limiting cyberbullying, investing in cyberbullying—preventing strategies can improve individual health by decreasing suicide attempts, and increase the aggregate health stock by decreasing suicide rates.     

The impact of media coverage of the suicide of a well-known Quebec reporter: the case of Gaëtan Girouard

Evidence of a media impact on suicide is mixed and needs further research. The main objective of this article is to document the effects of the media coverage following the suicide of a well-known and popular television reporter in Quebec, Canada. A content analysis of the printed media and an analysis of suicide rates during the following year, of coroners' records and of calls to Suicide Prevention Centres during the following 3 months was conducted. Most guidelines for responsible reporting of a suicide were not applied. The results showed a rise in the suicides rates immediately after the reporter's suicide, especially by hanging as in the original case. A cluster of six suicides by hanging also took place in the small municipality where the reporter's suicide occurred. There was also an indication of direct influence in the coroners' records and a rise in calls to Suicide Prevention Centres. This research indicates that the reporting of the suicide of a popular figure preceded an important rise in the number of suicides. A possible theoretical explanation is that a positive role model appeared to suddenly fail to cope with life, thus creating high distress and cognitive dissonance in the audience. The news media should apply more caution and follow recommended guidelines in reporting this type of news.     

Nationwide newspaper coverage of physician-assisted suicide: a community structure approach

Using a community structure approach linking city characteristics and variations in media coverage, the authors examined newspaper coverage of physician-assisted suicide. A nationwide sample of 15 city newspapers yielded 288 articles in a four year period. Content analysis of article "prominence" (placement, headline size, story length, presence of photos) and overall article direction (favorable, unfavorable, or balanced/neutral) yielded a combined and widely varied single score "Media Vector" or measure of issue "projection" for each newspaper. Correlation and factor analysis yielded two significant city characteristic factors: a "stakeholder" factor, age (percent over 75) associated with unfavorable coverage of physician-assisted suicide (r = -.491; p = 000); and an "access" factor--combining media access (newspaper circulation, cable stations, FM or AM stations) and health care access (health care facilities, physicians)--linked to favorable coverage (r = .472; p = .000), combining to account for 46.3 percent of the variance. Western US newspapers and public opinion are most favorable to physician-assisted suicide.     

Nationwide Newspaper Coverage of Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Community Structure Approach

Using a community structure approach linking city characteristics and variations in media coverage, the authors examined newspaper coverage of physician-assisted suicide. A nationwide sample of 15 city newspapers yielded 288 articles in a four year period. Content analysis of article “prominence” (placement, headline size, story length, presence of photos) and overall article direction (favorable, unfavorable, or balanced/neutral) yielded a combined and widely varied single score “Media Vector” or measure of issue “projection” for each newspaper. Correlation and factor analysis yielded two significant city characteristic factors: a “stakeholder” factor, age (percent over 75) associated with unfavorable coverage of physician-assisted suicide (r = ? .491; p = 000); and an “access” factor—combining media access (newspaper circulation, cable stations, FM or AM stations) and health care access (health care facilities, physicians)—linked to favorable coverage (r = .472; p = .000), combining to account for 46.3 percent of the variance. Western US newspapers and public opinion are most favorable to physician-assisted suicide.     

Copycat effects after media reports on suicide: A population-based ecologic study

This study aimed to investigate whether the risk of increased suicide occurrence after reports on suicide is associated with the social characteristics of the reported suicides and whether this varies with similarity between the reported suicides and suicides in the population. We collected reports on all 179 individual suicides named in the 13 largest Austrian nationwide newspapers from 1996 to 2006. Information on social status and sociodemographic characteristics of the reported suicides, on certainty of labelling the death as a suicide, and on the suicide methods applied were extracted from the articles. We conducted logistic regression analyses, with the increase of post-report suicides within 28 days after the reports as dependent variable. In model 1, the increase of suicides that matched the reported individual suicide with regard to age group, sex and suicide method was used as outcome variable. In model 2, the increase of suicides that were different from the reported suicide with regard to these characteristics was the outcome. In model 3, the post-report increase of total suicides was the dependent variable. Celebrity status of the reported suicide, age of the reported suicide between 30 and 64 years, and definitive labelling as a suicide were associated with an increased risk of a post-report increase of similar suicides; criminality (i.e. the individual was reported as suspected or convicted of crime) of the reported suicide was associated with a lower risk of a post-report increase. In dissimilar suicides, none of the variables was associated with a post-report increase of suicides. Celebrity status of the reported suicide was the only predictor of a post-report increase of total suicides. The findings support the hypothesis that social variables of reported suicides impact the risk of post-report copycat behaviour. Evidence of copycat effects seemed to be strongest in suicides that were similar to the respective model with regard to age group, sex, and suicide method.     

Motives and Characteristics of Domestic Violence Homicides and Suicides Among Women in India

Domestic violence homicides and suicides are significant causes of deaths among women in India. This study examined characteristics and motives of various types of domestic violence-related homicides and suicides (n = 100) in India using newspaper reports (2011–2012). The majority of victims were found to be young women, mostly killed by burning or strangulation methods. The most frequently reported motive was dowry demands followed by a history of domestic violence or harassment and family conflict. The findings highlight the need for stronger prevention/intervention programs in India to identify and intervene with women at high risk for being killed or committing suicide.     

Do local landmark bridges increase the suicide rate? An alternative test of the likely effect of means restriction at suicide-jumping sites

A number of recent studies have examined the effect of installing physical barriers or otherwise restricting access to public sites that are frequently used for suicides by jumping. While these studies demonstrate that barriers lead to a reduction in the number of suicides by jumping at the site where they are installed, thus far no study has found a statistically significant reduction in the local suicide rate attributable to a barrier. All previous studies are case studies of particular sites, and thus have limited statistical power and ability to control for confounding factors, which may obscure the true relationship between barriers and the suicide rate. This study addresses these concerns by examining the relationship between large, well-known bridges ("local landmark" bridges) of the type that are often used as suicide-jumping sites and the local suicide rate, an approach that yields many more cases for analysis. If barriers at suicide-jumping sites decrease the local suicide rate, then this implies that the presence of an unsecured suicide-jumping site will lead to a higher local suicide rate in comparison to areas without such a site. The relationship between suicides and local landmark bridges is examined across 3116 US counties or county equivalents with negative binomial regression models. I found that while exposure to local landmark bridges was associated with an increased number of suicides by jumping, no positive relationship between these bridges and the overall number of suicides was detected. It may be impossible to conclusively determine if barriers at suicide-jumping sites reduce the local suicide rate with currently available data. However, the method introduced in this paper offers the possibility that better data, or an improved understanding of which potential jumping sites attract suicidal individuals, may eventually allow researchers to determine if means restriction at suicide-jumping sites reduces total suicides.     

安徽省部分职业院校青少年网络欺凌与自杀相关行为的关联性研究

目的 了解安徽省青少年网络欺凌的流行现状,分析网络欺凌与自杀相关行为的关联,为网络欺凌和自杀相关行为的干预提供科学依据。方法 采用分层整群抽样方法选取安徽省5所职业院校,对共计10 574名在校学生进行问卷调查,了解其网络欺凌和自杀相关心理行为的情况,分析网络欺凌与自杀相关行为的关联性。结果 本研究收回有效问卷10 158份,研究对象中网络欺凌的总检出率为3.3%,自杀意念、自杀计划和自杀未遂的检出率分别是5.6%、3.5%和1.8%。Logistic回归分析结果显示,无论男女,遭受网络欺凌是自杀意念、自杀计划和自杀未遂的危险因素（均有P<0.05）。结论 青少年遭受网络欺凌现象普遍,这与青少年自杀相关行为存在相关性,应予以重视。     

Media roles in suicide prevention: a systematic review

The aim of the current systematic review was to monitor and provide an overview of the research performed about the roles of media in suicide prevention in order to find out possible effects media reporting on suicidal behaviours might have on actual suicidality (completed suicides, attempted suicides, suicidal ideation). The systematic review was performed following the principles of the PRISMA statement and includes 56 articles. Most of the studies support the idea that media reporting and suicidality are associated. However, there is a risk of reporting bias. More research is available about how irresponsible media reports can provoke suicidal behaviours (the 'Werther effect') and less about protective effect media can have (the 'Papageno effect'). Strong modelling effect of media coverage on suicide is based on age and gender. Media reports are not representative of official suicide data and tend to exaggerate sensational suicides, for example dramatic and highly lethal suicide methods, which are rare in real life. Future studies have to encounter the challenges the global medium Internet will offer in terms of research methods, as it is difficult to define the circulation of news in the Internet either spatially or in time. However, online media can provide valuable innovative qualitative research material.     

The association between exposure to interpersonal violence and suicide among women: a systematic review

Objective : To review the association between exposure to interpersonal violence and suicide among women. Methods : In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses Protocol (PRISMA‐P), this review examined articles identified by using the key terms ‘interpersonal violence’, ‘suicide’ and ‘death’. Of 5,536 articles identified, 38 met the a priori inclusion criteria. These required that studies examined interpersonal violence, included women and completed suicide was a measured outcome. Results : Thirty‐eight studies were identified. These examined suicides among women exposed to interpersonal violence as a victim (n=27) or perpetrator (n=14). A history of interpersonal violence was identified in 3.5–62.5% of female suicides, with many articles finding victims of abuse have an increased risk of death from suicide. Females perpetrating violence may also be at increased the risk of death from suicide. However, several papers have questioned these associations. Further, the contribution of mental illness to this association is unclear. Conclusions : Although the association between suicide and interpersonal violence requires further investigation, being a victim or perpetrator of violence appears to be associated with risk of suicide. Future research should focus on the impact that the type of violence, victim‐perpetrator relationship and proximity of violence has on the risk of death from suicide. Implications for Public Health : There may be significant opportunity for targeted suicide prevention strategies among women who have been victims or perpetrators of interpersonal violence.     

Framing of Australian newspaper coverage of a secondhand smoke injury claim: Lessons for media advocacy

This paper focuses on newspaper coverage of the Marlene Sharp legal case in Australia, concerning a non-smoking bar worker who was awarded damages for laryngeal cancer caused by passive smoking. All Australian metropolitan and Victorian regional newspaper coverage of the case was obtained from a commercial media monitoring agency for the month of May 2001, yielding 100 articles for analysis. A qualitative text analysis was conducted on newspaper articles, coding for content, tone and frame. Coverage of the outcome of the Marlene Sharp case was predominantly positive for tobacco control, with positive coverage (45% of articles) outweighing negative coverage (13% of articles) by a factor of 3 to 1. The most commonly occurring frame (27% of articles) advanced the view that legislation to protect workers from secondhand smoke is appropriate, even overdue, and encouraged the government to create smoke-free policies to protect workers. Other common frames positive for tobacco control included ‘smoking as socially unacceptable’ (9%) and ‘smoking as a societal problem’ (9%). Of articles framed negatively for tobacco control, ‘individual rights’ (5%) and ‘system cynicism’ (5%) were most common. Legal cases present special opportunities for public health media advocates to bring a human face to the need to progress passage of smoke-free policies.     

The relationship between media reporting of suicide and actual suicide in Australia

This study aimed to determine whether media items about suicide were associated with differential increases in actual suicides. Data were available on 4,635 suicide-related items appearing in Australian newspapers and on radio and television news and current affairs shows between March 2000 and February 2001. These data were combined with national data on completed suicides occurring during the same period, by a process that involved identifying the date and geographical reach of the media items and determining the number of suicides occurring in the same location in selected weeks pre- and post-item. Regression analyses were conducted to determine whether the likelihood of an increase in post-item suicides could be explained by particular item characteristics. We found that 39% of media items were followed by an increase in male suicides, and 31% by an increase in female suicides. Media items were more likely to be associated with increases in both male and female suicides if they occurred in the context of multiple other reports on suicide (versus occurring in isolation), if they were broadcast on television (versus other media), and if they were about completed suicide (versus attempted suicide or suicidal ideation). Different item content appeared to be influential for males and females, with an increase in male suicides being associated with items about an individual's experience of suicide and opinion pieces, and an increase in female suicides being associated with items about mass- or murder-suicide. Item prominence and quality were not differentially associated with increases in male or female suicides. Further research on this topic is required, but in the meantime there is a need to remain vigilant about how suicide news is reported. Mental health professionals and suicide experts should collaborate with media professionals to try to balance 'public interest' against the risk of harm.     

Charcoal burning suicides in Hong Kong and urban Taiwan: an illustration of the impact of a novel suicide method on overall regional rates

OBJECTIVES: Following the first case in Hong Kong in 1998, the method of committing suicide by charcoal burning has spread to other communities. This aim of this study was to examine the impact of charcoal burning suicides on both overall suicide rates and older-method suicide rates in Hong Kong and urban Taiwan. DESIGN: Trend analysis of the overall and method-specific suicide rates between 1997 and 2002. Comparison of age and gender profiles of those who committed suicide by charcoal burning and other methods of suicide. SETTING: Hong Kong and Urban Taiwan. MAIN RESULTS: Suicides by charcoal burning increased rapidly within five years in both Hong Kong and urban Taiwan. This increase was not paralleled by decreases in suicides by older methods and led to an increase of more than 20% in the overall suicide rates. Those in the 24-39 age range were more likely to choose charcoal burning than other methods. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of parallel decreases in the suicides rates of older methods with the rise of charcoal burning suicides suggests limited substitution between the methods. The preponderance of the rise in suicide deaths associated with charcoal burning suggests that its invention, followed by wide media dissemination, may have specifically contributed to the increase in suicides in both regions. As a similar increase was found in urban Taiwan as in Hong Kong, charcoal burning suicide should not be viewed as merely a local health problem and has the potential to become a major public health threat in other countries.     

All in the family: media presentations of family assisted suicide in Britain

This paper presents a preliminary investigation of the press coverage of family assisted suicide in Britain during the mid to late 1990s. The newspaper articles we examine focus on court cases in which a family member had been charged with assisting a terminally ill relative to put an end to their lives. The paper aims to typify basic characteristics of the coverage and to explore their potential political implications. The observations reveal a consistently supportive stance towards family assisted suicide that is produced by depictions of dying persons and perpetrators as autonomous and conscientious individuals; by idyllic portrayals of family relations; and by praising judges for their lenient verdicts. Presentations of the law as a dated State system, as well as the marginalization of opposing voices, further enhanced the supportive message. We suggest that the commending of actors' self-reliance and the call for decreased State interference in personal affairs aligns with the neo-liberal spirit that has come into prominence in Britain since the 1980s. Within this context, we raise some questions regarding the broader political significance of such media representations.