The association between suicide deaths and putatively harmful and protective factors in media reports

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.

Responsible reporting to prevent suicide contagion

“…5 In linked research, Sinyor and colleagues examine print and online media reports of 947 suicide deaths in the city of Toronto from 2011 to 2014, to investigate whether aspects of these reports were associated with subsequent increases or decreases in suicide. 6 One of the most striking features of this study is how commonly media reports on suicide described the method used, despite clear guidelines to avoid this practice. 5 Almost half (49.5%) of the 6367 articles that reported on these suicides iden tified the method used, and one in eight (12.8%) described the method in specific detail.…”

Media reporting of suicide

“…2,8 I fully agree that the important findings of the study authors should be included in the development of future guidelines to the media for reporting on suicide. 1 Unfortunately, most newspapers and online publications do not yet follow the principles of good media reporting of suicides, as the current data show. [3][4][5]7,9 Martin Hofmeister PhD Nutritional scientist, Department Food and Nutrition, Consumer Centre of the German Federal State of Bavaria, Munich, Germany n Cite as: CMAJ 2018 December 10;190:…”

“…I congratulate Dr. Sinyor and colleagues for their excellent study on potential effects of media reports on suicide deaths, published in CMAJ. 1 The article clearly outlined prospects for further research. CMAJ readers will probably be interested to know that suicidal behaviour and contagion fuelled by media reporting (Werther v. Papageno effect) are also currently being investigated in many other countries, such as Austria, Germany, China, India, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sri Lanka.…”

Participatory model building for suicide prevention in Canada

“…among first responders [50]) play out as risk and protective factors at the community level. At the societal level, our draft model incorporates means restriction laws [51], systemic racism [52,53], and media reporting guidelines [6], among others, as important and intersecting risk and protective factors for suicide. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also developed a comprehensive model which they termed Socio-Ecological Suicide Prevention Model (SESPM), with accompanying recommendations for the establishment of multi-level socialecologically based suicide prevention programs [38].…”

“…5 Centre for Health Promotion, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. 6 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada. 7 School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.…”