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Abstract
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KEY POINTS
There is strong evidence that suicidal behaviour may be contagious, and that media reports on suicides may contribute to the contagion effect.
Media reports on suicides that include details of the suicide method, and those about celebrity suicide, are associated with increased subsequent suicides in the population.
Responsible reporting can help prevent the suicide contagion effect, and possibly make positive contributions toward suicide prevention.
Future research should examine whether suicide contagion effects may be amplified through social media or other media formats.
A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to suicide may increase the likelihood that an exposed individual may consider suicide themselves.1,2 One of the proposed mechanisms that could explain this apparent contagion effect is the reporting of suicides by the media. People reading or hearing about a suicide may identify with the deceased, and consequently may also consider the cause of death as an acceptable solution to their own problems.3
Many studies have linked media reporting of suicides to subsequent suicidal behaviour. One elegant example surveyed newspaper reporting of teen suicides in the United States from 1988 to 1996, comparing communities in which there was a single teen suicide to those in which there was a cluster of teen suicides.4 In communities where there was a suicide cluster, newspaper reporting of the first suicide was more likely to be on the front page of the newspaper, have a headline that included the word “suicide,” and describe the methods used in the suicidal act.4 Compelling research such as this has led organizations invested in suicide prevention, including the World Health Organization (WHO), to endorse guidelines for how journalists can report responsibly on suicide.5 Such guidelines include clear instructions that, when followed, are expected to reduce the possibility of suicide contagion and therefore prevent further deaths...
Language: en |