Citation

Arendt F. Death Stud. 2019; ePub(ePub): 1-8.

Affiliation

Department of Communication , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2019.1626952

PMID

31204892

Abstract

The press may have contributed to suicide as a mass phenomenon during the nineteenth century. There is limited knowledge on how the press reported on suicide. We utilized a content analysis of suicide news during the time period of suicide rate's strong increase in Austria (1855, 1865, 1875, 1885), assessing variables related to the responsible reporting on suicide (RRS). Analyses indicate that the press showed low levels of RRS and the quantity of low-quality reporting increased during the observation period. Although causal claims should be made with caution, the findings are consistent with the idea of a long-term Werther effect.

Language: en