%0 Journal Article
%T A dose-response relationship between imitational suicides and newspaper distribution
%J Archives of suicide research
%D 2004
%A Etzersdorfer, Elmar
%A Voracek, Martin
%A Sonneck, Gernot
%V 8
%N 2
%P 137-145
%X Although the Werther effect is well known, up to now a correlation between the differential distribution of particular media reports and subsequent imitational suicides could not be found. This study investigates a celebrity suicide by gun in Austria, which led to extensive reports in the largest Austrian newspaper, whose distribution shows substantial regional differences. The numbers of suicides by firearm in the 3 weeks after the reporting showed an increase over the 3 weeks prior. Regional analysis revealed a strong correlation of suicides by firearm and distribution of the newspaper (log odds ratios; r(9) = .62; p = .04, one-tailed). This dose-response effect explains 40% of the variability of changes. These results underline the influence of media reports on suicidal behavior.
%G en
%I Informa - Taylor and Francis Group
%@ 1381-1118
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13811110490270985