Research

Media Reporting of Suicide – What does the research say?

A review of research conducted in 2001 found that in some cases media portrayal of suicide was likely to have affected rates of actual suicide¹. The review examined Australian as well as international studies concerned with the effects of fictional and non-fictional portrayal of suicide in a variety of media.

The overall findings of the review suggested that the way suicide was represented was important and while increased rates of actual suicide were found to be associated with some reporting, examples of decreased rates of actual suicide following reports were also found.

Findings from some of the key studies in the review are summarised below.

For a summary of new research findings about suicide, 2002 - 2006 click here.

Increased rates of suicide were associated with:

• Reporting of celebrity suicide

A series of American studies found increased rates of suicide in months in which front page newspaper articles of celebrity suicide appeared^{2 3}. Further research from the USA and Canada has found an increase in suicide after the death of entertainment or political celebrities⁴.

• High profile reporting of suicide

Studies also found increased rates of suicide in the months that front-page reports of non-celebrity suicides appeared^{5 6 7 8}.  A retrospective study using US data from 1993 discovered local television news had a potent effect on suicide contagion⁹.

• Description of method and location

Higher rates of suicide by a particular method have been found to follow the appearance of newspaper stories on a suicide by these methods^{10 11 12 13 14}. Studies have also found a relationship between the method of suicide portrayed in a fictional film or television program, and increased rates of suicide attempts using this method ^{15 16 17 18 1920}.

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• Where vulnerable people identify with the person who is the subject of the story

A US study found an increase in the rate of death by suicide among older people following reporting of suicide in this population group^21. In addition, a 1995 Australian study found an increase in the number of males who died by suicide following newspaper reports of suicides with the peak being three days after reporting. This was attributed, at least to some extent, to the higher rate of reporting of male suicide and the predominantly male readership of the newspaper²².

• Prolonged or repetitive reporting of a suicide

This is described as a ‘dose response effect’, where the greater the coverage of a particular suicide the greater the risk of an increase in subsequent suicides. An Australian study has demonstrated a strong dose-response effect²³.

Decreased rates of suicide were associated with:

• Portrayal that positions suicide as a tragic waste and an avoidable loss and focuses on the devastating effects on others

A 1997 Australian study of reporting following Kurt Cobain’s suicide found rates among young Australians aged 15-24 were significantly lower in the month following the reporting of his death than for corresponding months in previous years. Significantly, the media were highly critical of Cobain’s decision to end his life²⁴. A US study showed rates of completed and attempted suicide by young people fell following the broadcast of telemovies showing the impact of suicide²⁵.

• Not reporting method or location

Austrian studies found that the number of completed and attempted suicides in the Vienna subway dropped after the introduction of media guidelines led to less frequent reporting of suicides by that method and in that location^{26 27 28}.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

While there is little published evidence of the impact of reporting suicide on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, a consultation conducted under the Mindframe Initiative in 2004 provides some insight into the issues:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are affected by reports of people who have died by suicide whether or not the person who died was an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, especially if they identify with them in some way.
• Identification with a person in a media report is seen as a risk for copycat suicide, especially among young men and boys.
• In many communities mentioning or using the name of a person who has passed away can cause great distress, as can showing their image through visual media.
• The summary report, News Media and Indigenous Australian Communities, can be downloaded here.

References