No abstract

Suicide is a major, global public health issue that accounts for at least 800 000 deaths per year worldwide.1 A substantial body of literature shows that media reports relating to suicide can influence some people to end their lives. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] This phenomenon, known as the Werther effect, is thought to occur via social learning, whereby a vulnerable person identifies with someone portrayed in the media and copies his or her behaviour. [5][6][7][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Studies in Australia, Austria and the United States have identified potentially harmful elements of media reporting associated with increased rates of subsequent suicide. 5,6,21 These include repetitive reporting, front-page story placement, reports about suicides by jumping, suicide death (rather than ideation or attempts), suicide pacts, including the word "suicide" or the suicide method in the headline, accompanying photos, "monocausal" (single cause and effect) explanations for suicide, and reports that included misinformation ("public myths") about suicide. 5,6,21 However, these elements were not tested or significant in all studies.A second phenomenon, called the Papageno effect, has been proposed whereby protective factors in reports on suicide may lead readers to initiate adaptive behaviours, resulting in fewer suicide deaths.5 In Austria, newspaper articles depicting "mastery of suicide," in which people experienced suicidal ideation but found solutions other than suicidal behaviour, were associated with decreased subsequent suicides. 5Responsible media reporting is one of a limited number of strategies, which also include restriction of means and schoolbased awareness programs, that may affect suicide rates at a popu lation level. [22][23][24] Worldwide, numerous guidelines have been developed to advise the media on best practices. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Exposure to media reporting on suicide can lead to suicide contagion and, in some circumstances, may also lead to help-seeking behaviour. There is limited evidence for which specific characteristics of media reports mediate these phenomena.

Individuals with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) often evidence comorbid Substance Use Disorders (SUD), resulting in poor outcome. This study is the first to examine treatment outcome for this concurrent disordered population. In this pilot study, 38 individuals diagnosed with BED and SUD participated in a 16-week group Mindfulness-Action Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MACBT). Participants significantly improved on measures of objective binge eating episodes; disordered eating attitudes; alcohol and drug addiction severity; and depression. Taken together, MACBT appears to hold promise in treating individuals with co-existing BED-SUD.