Suicide and the Media

1. Suicide and the Media Student Name Harvard University Extension School Date

2. Presentation Outline • Incredibly brief history of suicide in the media. • Possible explanations of media impacts on suicide. • Literature review. • Guidelines for responsible suicide reporting. • Conclusions.

3. Presentation Outline • Incredibly brief history of suicide in the media. • Possible explanations of media impacts on suicide. • Literature review. • Guidelines for responsible suicide reporting. • Conclusions.

4. History • Widespread coverage of a suicide in the media has long been thought to be capable of triggering copycat suicides. • In 1774, The Sorrows of Young Man Werther was published, a novel where the hero commits suicide due to a failed love affair. • The book was held responsible for imitative suicides all over Europe and was banned in many areas.

5. History (con’t) • Systematic scientific investigations on copy cat suicides began with the work of David Phillips in the 1970s. • Largest possible copycat effect was found for the well-known movie star Marilyn Monroe. • During the month of her suicide in August 1962, there was an increase of 12% suicides compared to last year. • Normally, highly publicized stories increase the national suicide rate by only 2.51%.

6. Presentation Outline • Incredibly brief history of suicide in the media. • Possible explanations of media impacts on suicide. • Literature review. • Guidelines for responsible suicide reporting. • Conclusions.

7. Possible explanations of media impact on suicide • Social learning theory • Learning that other people solve their life problems through suicide. • Learning process of differential identification • Identifying with the story gives more of an impact. • Supporting evidence would demonstrate people to be more likely to copy the suicides of famous celebrities. • Audience mood • High suicidogenic conditions of society increases the copycat effect.

8. Presentation Outline • Incredibly brief history of suicide in the media. • Possible explanations of media impacts on suicide. • Literature review. • Guidelines for responsible suicide reporting. • Conclusions.

9. Literature Review • ‘Preventing suicide by influencing mass-media reporting; the Viennese experience, 1980- 1986.’ • ‘Effects of drug overdose in a TV drama on presentation to hospital for self-poisoning.’ • ‘Suicide and the Media’ • ‘Media coverage as a risk factor for suicide’

10. Etzersdorfer E., & Sonnec, G. • Etzersdorfer and Sonnec wrote a report called ‘Preventing suicide by influencing mass-media reporting; the Viennese experience, 1980- 1986.’ • An extensive subway network was created in Vienna in 1978. • There was a large number of suicides reported; people were jumping in front of the trains. • These deaths were reported in graphic detail in the newspapers.

11. Etzersdorfer & Sonnec (con’t) • The Austrian Association for Suicide Prevention drew up a guide for responsible suicide reporting. • Implemented in the latter half of 1987. • Methods of suicide victims were no longer mentioned. • What happened? • Rates of subway suicides decreased by 80% in the following 6 months. • However, suicidal deaths in general decreased by a very small amount.

12. Hawton et al. • Hawton et al. did a study on suicide methodology in England called ‘Effects of drug overdose in a TV drama on presentation to hospital for self-poisoning.’ • Television show, “Casualty” gave a dramatic portrayal of Paracetemol poisoning. • Authors compared suicide rates three weeks before and after showing. • What happened?

13. Hawton et al. (con’t) • There was a 17% increase in suicides by overdose during the first week after the showing. • There was a 9% increase after the second week. • Increase was greatest for paracetemol than for other drugs. • What else was found?

14. Hawton et al. (con’t) • Approximately 20% of the ingesters revealed they had seen the program. • Of those people, 20% admitted that the program had influenced their choice of agent. • Although study is not perfect, it does provide suggestive data that the media can influence suicide.

15. Gould, M. • ‘Suicide and the Media’ is an exhaustive review of studies on the media effects on suicide. • In 42 nonfiction media reports of suicide, she found that 29 showed an apparent imitative effect, 8 did not and 5 had mixed results. • 29 fictional media reports showed that 15 appeared to have an imitative effect, while 9 did not and 5 had mixed results. • Combining the two showed 61% fit, 23% did not and 14% were mixed.

16. Gould, M. (con’t.) • She concludes that there is no doubt about the validity of contagion effects on suicide. • Although not a formal meta-analysis, her results are pretty convincing.

17. Stack, S. • In a study called, “Media coverage as a risk factor in suicide” Stack looked at 293 findings from 42 studies on the impact of publicized suicide stories. • Used logistic regression analysis. • What do you think happened when he compared celebrity, real vs. fiction, television vs. newspaper studies?

18. Stack, S. (con’t.) • Found that studies measuring the effect of a celebrity suicide were 14.3 times more likely to find a copycat effect. • Studies based on real stories were 4.03 times more likely to have a copycat effect than fictional stories. • Research based on televised stories were 82% less likely to report a copy cat effect than research based on stories.

19. Presentation Outline • Incredibly brief history of suicide in the media. • Possible explanations of media impacts on suicide. • Literature review. • Guidelines for responsible suicide reporting. • Conclusions

20. Guidelines for responsible reporting • Can we prevent contagion effects? • As long as people can communicate, it will be impossible to eliminate them totally. • There have been guidelines published, but they have not been rigorously evaluated, because of the methodological obstacles and low base of suicide.

21. Guidelines for responsible reporting • Do not romanticize the suicide. • Do not reduce a complex and multi-determined act such as suicide to simplistic explanations. • Do not exclude mention of depression or mental illness. • Do try not to run suicide stories on the front page of newspapers and covers of magazines. • Do indicate in the story where survivors of another’s suicide can get help or where those with mental illness with or without suicidal wishes can get help.

22. Guidelines for responsible reporting • Although evidence that media depictions of suicides can create additional suicides is suggestive, there is little data that these guidelines will decrease suicide rates. • This does not mean that these guidelines are without value – only that their value remains to be seen!

23. Presentation Outline • Incredibly brief history of suicide in the media. • Possible explanations of media impacts on suicide. • Literature review. • Guidelines for responsible suicide reporting. • Conclusions.

24. Conclusions • A large body of literature demonstrates how suicide in the media may have an impact on further suicides. • Guidelines exist which may help diminish these effects. • More research needs to be done on the effectiveness of the guidelines. Also, there needs to be further research in other modes of media, such as the music and the internet. • It is very important for mental and public health professionals to work with the media to improve the quality of reporting of suicide.

25. References • Etzersdorfer, E. & Sonneck, G. (1998). Preventing suicide by influencing mass-media reporting: the Viennese experience, 1980-1986. Archives of Suicide Research, 4, 67-74. • Gould, M. (2001). Suicide and the media. In H. Hendin & J. Mann (Eds.), Suicide Prevention: Clinical and Scientific Aspects. New York: NY Academy of Sciences, 200-224. • Hawton, K., Simkin, S., & Deeks, J. (1999). Effects of drug overdose in a TV drama on presentations to hospital for self-poisoning. British Medical Journal, 318, 972-977. • Michel, K., Frey, C., & Wyss, K. (2000). An exercise in improving suicide reporting in the print media. Crisis, 21, 71-79. • Stack, S. (2005). Suicide in the media: a quantitative review of studies based on nonfictional stories. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 35, 121-133. • Stack, S. (2003). Media coverage as a risk factor in suicide. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57, 238-240.  • Stack, S. (2000). Media impacts on suicide: a quantitative review of 293 findings. Social Science Quarterly, 81, 957-71.