Media Reports Detailing Suicides May Spur Others To Copy

Detailed media reports describing suicides, especially those of celebrities, are associated with increases in suicide rates in the general population, a new systematic review suggests.

When the accounts describe the means used, there is also an upsurge in suicide attempts using the same method, researchers report in The BMJ.

"The main message certainly is that repetitive and sensationalist reporting about the deaths of celebrities by suicide has a clear and compelling impact on subsequent suicide rates, and we identified an increase of 8%-18% in the 2 months after such reporting," said lead author Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, research group leader at the Centre for Public Health at the Medical University of Vienna, in Austria.

"The main tool to prevent such increases in suicides for media professionals and also bloggers is to use media guidelines for the reporting on suicide," Niederkrotenthaler said in an email. "These guidelines recommend not to report on details about suicidal acts, not to provide oversimplified explanations for suicide, but instead to list help resources and to portray the life of the deceased. For example, when it comes to Robin Williams suicide: how did this person contribute to the arts/culture?"

What would also help is more stories showing how individuals with suicidal thoughts cope, Niederkrotenthaler said.

To look at the impact of media reports on the rates of suicide, Niederkrotenthaler and his colleagues searched the literature for studies that compared suicide rates from at least one time point prior to reports of a death by suicide on TV, in print, in online news, or in non-fiction books or films, and up to two months afterward.

Ultimately, they analyzed 31 studies published between 1974 and 2019 that examined the period between 1947 and 2016. Twenty-two studies examined media reporting of death of celebrities by suicide and nine studies evaluated general reporting on suicide.

Reporting on celebrity suicides appeared to increase the number of suicides in the general population by 8% to 18% over the following 2 months. And information on the method of suicide was associated with an increase of 18% to 44% in the risk of suicide by the same means.

Stories that talked about suicide in general did not appear to be associated with significant increases in the rates of suicide.

In general, Niederkrotenthaler said, it is important to understand that suicide crises pass. "The temporary nature explains why a sensationalist media message that might do harm to someone who is vulnerable today does not necessarily do the same harm 2 months later," he added.

The new study is "phenomenally well done," said Dr. Jack Rozel, medical director of crisis services at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. "It confirms a lot of what we've known for quite some time."

Rozel points to an article from 1845 that describes the dangers of including too much detail about a suicide in news stories. The authors write in the Journal of Insanity: "That suicides are alarmingly frequent in this country is evident to all—and as a means of prevention, we respectfully suggest the propriety of not publishing details of such occurrences."

The new study is a reminder that media should be putting stories on suicide in perspective, Rozel said. Stories ought to include information on preventing suicide and how it can be reduced with mental health treatment and on possible warning signs, he added.

Many stories do not even include the public service announcement, Rozel said.

Guidance from the World Health Organization and other groups encourages media to include contact resources for anyone having suicidal thoughts or who wants to help someone in that state. In the US, this could include: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit Speaking of Suicide.com/resources for more information.

—Linda Carroll

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