Guidelines on the theme of suicide treated by the media
Edited by Maurizio Pompili, professor for Courses and Specializations of Faculty of Medicine and Surgery Department II, Sapienza University of Rome and coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Centre (www.prevenireilsuicidio.it)
- Introduction
- Media Stereotypes and emulating behaviours
- Warnings and prevention measures
- Guidelines to identify the media elements that lead to or prevent suicide
1. Introduction
The main organizations that deal with the suicide prevention have often highlighted the necessity to change the way to treat the theme of suicide through media. A great number of studies has revealed the strong connection between reporting the news, images, films and telefilms and even music and the increase of suicidal behaviours among the populations receiving the message.
In order to understand the actual role of media in encouraging suicides, we have to know the following elements:
- Consistence: the association between the treatment of suicide by the media and the actual suicides committed after giving the news must have consistence;
- Significance: the association is statistically significant and must show an effect-addiction (major exposition to suicide reports by the media, higher number of suicides as a result);
- Timing: chronologic connection between the information given and suicides;
- Specificity: clear association between suicidal behaviour and exposition to the media services on suicide.
An increasing number of studies indicates that the suicidal behaviour increases when a certain piece of news is more advertised than another one. An important criterion to identify the media stereotypes on suicide leads to consider some elements, such as:
- the length of the article;
- the position of the article;
- pictures;
- headlines;
- frequency in giving the news.
We should also consider:
1. if the article can be used as a model to elaborate suicide;
2. elements of the content that can be referred to the broadest aspects of the problem;
3. elements of prevention and treatment.
In analyzing media’s approach to the theme of suicide, it is possible to highlight the following characteristic elements:
- privileging the news about known and popular people;
- positive consequences of the act: presenting suicide as a noble act that paradoxically has characteristics of reversibility;
- negative consequences of the act: presenting the empathic suffering of the victim and the people around them;
- use of stereotyped etiquettes:
- psychiatric: suicide connected with psychiatric pathology
- criminal: suicide as a crime
- devaluating: suicide as a trivial act
- rational: suicide explained through logical motives with a note of approval, especially in case of assisted suicide
- political: suicide connected with political ideas, particularly as a protest
- tragic: a feeling of helplessness prevails with a positive, but subtle, connotation
- sensationalist: suicide shown in headlines and emphasized as a scoop.
Some authors have searched for a significant link to suicide stories that occupy the first pages of newspapers and events of several kind that can be linked to suicide. It is believed that there is a link between the media behaviour in giving the news of a suicide on the first page and the number of car accidents occurred the week following the news.
Moreover, emphasizing the news about a homicide-suicide on newspapers or on TV networks leads to an increase of plane accidents following the news. That would happen only in case of reporting the suicide of a celebrity.
Others have also tried to calculate the increase of suicides after reporting the news on a newspaper that described a suicide.
This debate, as we know, goes back in time; in 1774 Goethe published “The Sorrows of Young Werther”, where the protagonist shot himself because not loved.
The emulating behaviours caused by the book lead to the cersorship of it in several European countries (Werther effect).
Thus, it is possible to highlight the points that show the connection between the news given and suicide:
1. the media services on suicide can lead to an increase of a suicidal behaviour, especially when they are emphasized or repeated, or when they describe the way through which the suicide has been committed; young and old people are particularly sensitive to this type of influence;
2. most of the news about suicide given by the media lack of detailed information about the psychiatric pathology of the victim;
3. modifying the style of giving the news about suicide, showing pictures and describing the event, can help prevent the most vulnerable people from committing suicide;
4. giving information about the support available though the media (e.g. TV programmes about suicide) and encouraging the request of help has a positive effect on suicide prevention.
The media does not realize how easy it is to provide those vulnerable subjects with all the necessary ingredients to commit suicide through their message.
This is what typically happens: too real situations are advertised and easily introduced in the social and cultural mass context, becoming a sort of model for an easy solution.
A known event is an episode of the British TV serial (Casualty) where a 15-year-old girl swallowed 50 tablets of paracetamol, from which it was clear she would die.
Several authors have revealed that, following that episode, a lot of suicides or suicide attempts had been committed swallowing paracetamol tablets.
In the cases of attempted suicide, a lot of the victims admitted the connection with the above mentioned episode.
Also another episode from Casualty showed the same effect, when they broadcast the episode of a British Air Force pilot attempted suicide swallowing paracetamol tablets.
In addition to this, the easy availability of paracetamol suggested the same method of suicide as the victim of the TV serial.
The same effect was also shown after the broadcast of an episode of Surviving, where a young couple committed suicide with an overdose.
There are certain situations that media likes connecting with suicide, either a piece of news or an episode of a fiction.
The following conditions seem to confirm a higher number of emulating behaviours by vulnerable subjects when media emphasizes the news on suicide:
- Terminal diseases
- Financial losses
- Unemployment
- Loss of a beloved person because of death or divorce
- Marriage problems
- Social isolation
- Weak health
- Depression and hopelessness
- Generational gap between parents and children
- School problems
According to the theory of influenced behaviour, an individual has pre-existing motives to behave in a certain way, but at the same time there can be inhibitions that prevent from it.
A higher number of emulating behaviours has been reported when the news on a suicide on a newspaper has the following characteristics:
1.first page headlines
2. bold-typed headlines
3.sensational presentation
4.message repeated
The idea according which only a celebrity’s suicide leads to an increase of suicides after giving the news has been unconfirmed through studies that have highlighted that any suicide can lead to emulating behaviours.
We all remember what happened in the case of the famous rock star Kurt Cobain.
His wife presented her husband’s suicide as an act of negative connotation in several TV and radio programmes as well as on the press.
That message and the homogeneous attitude of media in dealing with the news limited the emulating behaviours that would probably arise.
The media stereotypes are strictly connected with the cultural context.
They represent it adjusting the contents of the services to the rooted habits and costumes of a certain place.
For example in Germany, the news of a suicide is given as a criminal offence or as a psycho-pathology, whereas in Hungary newspapers report the news with elements of romanticism.
That made some author think that this element can enormously contribute to a higher suicide toll in Hungary than in Germany.
Moreover, in the Hungarian and Lithuanian press, the description of suicide as connected with prominent personalities and positive consequences, ignoring the pathologic and negative aspects of the acts, can actually contribute to increase the suicide toll more than in Germany and in Austria, where there is a major control.
Nowadays it is necessary to limit and contain that typical style of media in reporting the news about a suicide or in representing it in several forms, many of which can lead to emulating behaviours.
It is useful to underline the following points as guidelines to the news about a suicide.
3. Warnings and prevention measures
The following warnings can be used to reduce the risk of emulating behaviours or the influence maintaining the integrity of the service:
1. wondering whether a suicide can be a piece of news;
2. avoiding presenting a suicide as a mysterious action by an individual apparently healthy and successful;
3. clearly stating that a suicide is a complication in several kinds of mental pathologies, many of which are treatable;
4. avoid presenting a suicide as a reasonable way of problem solving;
5. avoid presenting a suicide with a heroic or romantic style;
- paying attention to the victim’s photos and their family and friends in order to avoid the identification with the victim and the glorification of their death;
- avoiding detailed description of the mode of suicide and the place where it occurred;
- limiting the space dedicated to suicide stories; avoiding first page headlines;
- avoiding useless sensationalism; well-reported stories are sometimes spoiled by inappropriate headlines;
- giving adequate information about available resources for the treatment and prevention of suicidal behaviours.
However, it is necessary to create a culture within media that enable it to be used for combating suicide.
It can act as a valid prevention measure.
For example, in the cases where a suicide is presented with negative connotation, the information has a clear educational message.
In other cases, there are also coping and support mechanism that can be used by those who suffer from suicidal behaviours.
In conclusion, a conduct in line with the fight against suicide should stick to the following points:
1. being realistic: suicides are pieces of news and often tough subjects to deal with, especially in case of celebrities’ suicides.
It is necessary to respect the media guidelines;
2. developing a strategy of media: collect only essential facts and figures; plan the events and instruct the people to reveal the most practical and important points of a story.
Make the news clear and simple;
3. accepting support: search for the help of important people of media with whom establishing a team for a professional training and the sensitization of media to respect the guidelines of suicide prevention.
4. Guidelines to identify the media elements that lead to or prevent suicide
The risk of influence is higher if:
- There is a sensational reference
- The article is on the first page, especially in the top half part
- The word “suicide” appears on the first page
- There are photos of the victim or the suicide scene
- The victim is described as a hero.
The impact on vulnerable people will be stronger if:
- Details about how and where the suicide happened are given;
- The suicide is described as inexplicable (e.g. He had everything..)
- The reasons for the suicide are romanticised (…being together for ever);
- The reasons for the suicide are minimized (e.g. the boy committed suicide because he had got bad marks at school)
The risk of the risk of influence is reduced when:
- Alternatives to the suicide are presented (where could the person find help?)
- Examples of happy endings are given;
- Information about the availability of resources are given;
- There is a list of indicators of suicidal behaviours.
Alarming signs:
- direct or indirect threats of suicide;
- previous suicide attempts;
- change of behaviour (isolation, apathy);
- depression (insomnia, loss of appetite, hopelessness, worries, loss of initiatives and interests, lack of concentration);
- possible final programmes (how to get rid of personal objects)
Warnings from the Association of Suicidology, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Annenberg Public Policy Centre that demand that the media stereotyped language regarding suicide is changed:
1. whenever it is possible, it should be avoided to refer to suicide in the headlines of a service: the death cause should be mentioned in the body, not in the headlines;
2. the deaths that evoke a national interest, like those of famous people, or those treated in small inhabited centres, should be entitled as follows: “Marilyn Monroe dead at 36 years” or “John Smith dead at 48 years”: the details about how they died can be in the body of the article;
3.in the body of the article it is preferable to describe the victim as the person “who died because of suicide”, rather than the person who “is the suicidal” or “who committed suicide”: the last two phrases connect the person to the world of death or indicate a criminal or offensive behaviour.
5. The case of MJ Nee in Taiwan
Numerous studies have confirmed that the news about the suicide of a famous person has a “copycat” effect on people, increasing the suicide toll. A cross analysis of 419 studies on the effect of the media on suicide tolls has shown that the studies based on the suicide of a famous person are likely to have a “copycat” effect by 5.27 times more than the studies based on the suicide of a non-famous person.Moreover, a recent study has analyzed the direct impact of the news of the suicide of a famous person on depressed patients.
The patients were administrated a questionnaire to assess their disposition to such news and the impact on a suicidal behaviour.
The study was conducted immediately after giving the news of the suicide of a famous TV actor in Taiwan, MJ Nee, who committed suicide
by hanging himself at the age of 59 in April 2005.
The news about the actor’s fatal action was given on May 2nd 2005, on the day when the actor’s body was found, and the news continued for 17 days. The detailed analysis of the content of the news showed that the media used sensational language and strong empathy for the victim.
Moreover, the method of suicide was described a lot of times, with pictures and description of the place. As the authors observed, in that way media ignored several aspects of the Guidelines about how to report the news about a suicide.
The results of this study show of all the patients exposed to that news (461), 220 (50.2%) revealed a suicidal behaviour in the period after the event, and 27 (6.2%) attempted suicide, and almost those suicide attempts occurred in the three weeks following the news.
More than a third of the people interviewed admitted that the news had had a negative impact on the thoughts about suicide and the attempt.
This study has showed the direct impact of the news on depressed patients, and it also remarks the importance of following the Guidelines in reporting such a delicate topic.
In another study the suicide tolls from 2003 to 2005 have been analyzed in order to confirm whether the same news in Taiwan had caused an increase in the suicide tolls in the general population, and whether there was a group at a high risk of emulation after the news.
The results of this work have confirmed a great increase in the suicide tolls in the 4 weeks (May 2005) after giving the news about Nee’s suicide, compared with the period in the two previous years.
The number of suicide clearly increased from 390 in April to 467 in May (an increase by 19.7%), to decrease again to 367 in June 2005.
In the same month there was also an increase in suicides by hanging – the method used by Nee – and such increase resulted only in men.
The figures have confirmed a great increase in the suicide tolls in the 4 weeks after the news, and the authors attribute this increase to the quantity of news reported and the style used by media. It is interesting to observe that a great increase of suicides was among subjects younger than the actor – that would mean that the young are more vulnerable to the influence of media.
Another recent study has analysed the style of reporting such delicate news in the same region of the case above mentioned, Taiwan.
The study observed that media in that region did not use to follow the WHO warnings on suicide prevention.
After a campaign on the Guidelines addressed to media, there was an actual change in the style of reporting news in compliance with the Guidelines.
Particularly there was a reduction of sensational representation of suicide as well as a reduction of headlines mentioning a suicide.
The research has shown that the programmes aimed at sensitizing media in reporting such delicate news are effective to change the style of the media.
A study on the impact of the Guidelines of suicidal behaviour of the population of Austri has confirmed an annual reduction of suicide tolls by 95%.
6. The Role of the Internet
It is now well known that the Internet is the communication medium most used by young people.For this reason, in the next years, the research will have to focus on the role that the Internet plays regarding the mental health of young people and suicidal behaviours. Few studies have focused on the connection between the use of the Internet and the risk of suicide.
Two analyses have shown the case in which the death of an adolescent was linked to websites instigating to suicide, concluding that the content of such sites can be a trigger concerning suicidal behaviours.
A very recent study, conducted on a population of Japanese adolescents employed in the research in a high school, has revealed that a suicide story can be linked to the research of information about suicide on the Internet, experiences of anxiety and suffering regarding the use of the e-media and suspicion on the people around us.
Out of 208 subjects that had presented a suicide story, 33 (15%) had had access to the information on line.
Such connection is also confirmed by the logistic regression analysis.
These figures confirm that the role of the Internet on adolescents’ behaviour and mind should not be underestimated, and that it is also fundamental to study the role of the Internet in the increase of suicide tolls and how to prevent the negative effects deriving from the use of the web.
In this regard, the use of preventive campaigns should be fundamental.
A concrete proposal could be creating anti-suicide websites that provide useful information for the young and adults; a study has revealed that the young with suicidal behaviours access the web to find information about suicide and probably help.
Therefore it might be useful to create a network of information that contrasts misinformation and the sites that instigate to suicide.
Moreover, another prevention strategy could be instructing the young on a correct use of the web and the selection of valid information.
Further studies are necessary to assess the direct impact of the Internet on the risk of suicide. It would be interesting to assess whether the use of Internet increases the risk of suicide and what subjects are particularly vulnerable.
7. Conclusions
The suicide phenomenon, broadly present in all ages and in many cultures, reflects beliefs, images and philosophic, religious and cultural influences, on whose background the individual behaviour is based.The study of suicide is by its nature complex.
The current culture is ruled by media. Fashions, trends, any sort of news, life styles, medical and psychotherapeutic advice that provide easy solutions to problems are just presented by media.
The individuals’ vulnerability to the media messages is evident in every day life. Any sort of publicity can impact specific groups of the general population. Unlikely, media cannot distinguish between its informative power and the kind of news and themes treated.
There is evidence of emulation of the media stereotypes by vulnerable subjects.
The news about a suicide is often reported with a sensational style. In newspapers it is often on the first page, presented as a scoop.
Details beyond the common sense are easily found in the articles and in TV broadcasts. Films and TV serials are typically full of suicide stories connected with every day life – and we all know that a lot of TV serials are part of people’s life.
A growing number of initiatives lead to the creation of guidelines aimed at improving the style of media in treating the theme of suicide.
It is believed that the representatives of media are gradually starting to change. It is a primary objective to create a culture in media regarding the spread of resources available for those who show suicidal behaviour. Several studies have showed that treating the theme of suicide along with the resources available reduces the risk of emulating behaviours.