Should Suicide Be Reported in the Media? Die Rollen von Medien in der Suizidprävention. Sullivan, G. (2007). 1 Niederkrotenthaler, T., Till, B. [33] Examples of celebrities whose suicides have triggered suicide clusters include Ruan Lingyu, the Japanese musicians Yukiko Okada and hide, the South Korean actress Choi Jin-Sil, whose suicide caused suicide rates to rise by 162.3%[34] and Marilyn Monroe, whose death was followed by an increase of 200 more suicides than average for that August month. (2005). Stack[16] analyzed the results from 42 studies and found that those measuring the effect of a celebrity suicide story were 14.3 times more likely to find a copycat effect than studies that did not. This is called a suicide cluster.
Within a very short time information on suicide methods, their advantages and disadvantages as well as sources of supply for weapons or drugs can be spread via dubious websites4. The expert interviews also revealed the necessity to change the public healthcare communication. [citation needed], Studies suggest that the risk of suicide fell significantly when media outlets began following recommendations for suicide reporting in the late 20th century. Some of these opportunities, for instance the possibility that preventive help offers can reach a huge number of users within a very short term of time, are already known. Prevention, however, can also take place at another level. 5 World Health Organization (2000). A survey of in-house guides of 16 US daily newspapers showed that only three mentioned the word suicide, and none gave guidelines about publishing the method of suicide. Expert interviews carried out by the authors revealed that the still existing treatment of suicidality as a taboo represents a huge problem. As children and adolescents often use dubious websites unthoughtfully it is important to give them an understanding of how to handle media competently.
Primarily, however, this holds true for the traditional media such as press and television. The Werther effect – About the handling of suicide in the media. Preventing Suicide. [5] Upon learning of someone else's suicide, some people decide that action may be appropriate for them as well, especially if the publicized suicide was of someone in a situation similar to their own. People may see suicide as a glamorous ending, with the victim getting attention, sympathy, and concern that they never got in life. In the novel, Werther shoots himself with a pistol after he is rejected by the woman he loves, and shortly after its publication there were reports of young men using the same method to kill themselves in acts of hopelessness. [4], One of the earliest known associations between the media and suicide arose from Goethe's novel Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (The Sorrows of Young Werther). Scientifically it was first described in 1974 by David Philipps whose study, until today, has been considered to be a pioneer work and constitutes a starting point for a large number of further studies. A comparison drawn by Niederkrotenthaler et al. Only if it is discussed openly, possibilities for prevention can be detected and developed further.
The Werther effect is the mimicry of suicide after a highly publicized suicide.
The increase generally happens only in areas where the suicide story was highly publicized. The expert interviews also revealed the necessity to change the public healthcare communication. Soon after its publication in 1774, young men began to mimic the main character by dressing in yellow pants and blue jackets. He cited studies that showed that people were more likely to engage in dangerous deviant behavior, such as drug taking, if someone else had set the example first.[3].
In this context the way of media reporting has proved to be highly relevant. The research suggested that watching the show prompted conversations between teens and parents about bullying, suicide and mental health. In doing so, specific topics such as the handling of suicidality in the media can be addressed. [27], Australia is one of the few countries where there is a concerted effort to teach journalism students about this subject. Remember me: Constructing immortality—Beliefs on immortality, life and death (pp. This is then called the “Papageno effect“, which was first empirically confirmed in 2010 by an Austrian work group headed by Thomas Niederkrotenthaler. Most ethical decisions are left to individual editors at individual papers. They were more likely to die by suicide in clusters, either because they had learned this trait from their friends, or because suicidal people are more likely to be like one another.
Neurologie & Psychiatrie, 6/14, S. 27-30, 2 Eichenberg, C. (2010). Media reports should increasingly focus on the aspect of recovery and the positive facets, for example by means of interviews with persons having overcome a crisis, instead of concentrating on sickness and its negative consequences.
Here, guidelines for the reporting on suicides have already been established. 1 Niederkrotenthaler, T., Till, B.
Headline works with media professionals and students to find ways to collaborate to ensure that suicide, mental health and mental illness are responsibly covered in the media and provides information on reporting on mental health and suicidal behavior, literature and daily analysis of news stories. The GENOMIA project will use next generation sequencing…, Big Data for Mobility Tracking Knowledge Extraction in Urban Areas As Track&Know enters the final year of research and development, we look back over 2019 at what we have achieved.…. Special emphasis is placed on treatment possibilities or successfully coped diseases. Verhaltenstherapie, 15/05, S.20-26. [11] Increased rate of suicides has been shown to occur up to ten days after a television report. The Open Access Government site uses cookies, Seamless Remote Hand Hygiene Training for Medical Colleges with SureWash, Sustainable agroecosystems: Facilitating transition to a healthier environment, and healthier and more resilient agricultural communities, Continuous real-world monitoring of cardiorespiratory health, Wind Turbine Foundation inspection using Coda Octopus 3_D Echoscope, After COVID-19: The HQ of the future will be smaller and more adaptable, Finding safer substitutes for endocrine disruptors is a tricky job, Voice biomarkers that identify driving skills.