The association between suicide deaths and putatively harmful and protective factors in media reports
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- Posted on: (17 August 2018)Page navigation anchor for Media reporting of suicide newsMedia reporting of suicide news
- Martin Hofmeister, Dr., Consumer Centre of the German Federal State of Bavaria, Department Food and Nutrition, Germany
Dear Editor,
Clearly outlined prospects for further research - I congratulate Dr. Sinyor and colleagues for their excellent study about potential factors of media reports on suicide deaths in the July 2018 issue of the CMAJ [1]. CMAJ readers will probably be interested to know that these media's interactions on suicidal behavior and contagion (Werther vs. Papageno effect) are also currently being investigated in many other countries such as Austria, Germany, China, India, United Kingdom, Ireland or Sri Lanka [2-7].
For example, in German-speaking countries, when the term "free death" (in German: Freitod) is used in the news framework instead of the terms "suicide" or "self-murder" (in German: Selbstmord), readers seem to have a greater understanding of suicide among individuals with incurable diseases [2]. However, suicidal persons do not make a free, rational decision that the term "free death" supposedly implies (i.e., an emotional tunnel vision of one's own life and environment). Unfortunately, the problematic suicide referents "free death" and "self-murder" (allegedly related to crime) are still used regularly in German-speaking countries, although the term "suicide" is recommended for media reports [2, 8].
I fully agree that the important findings of the authors should be included in the development of future media guidelines for reporting on suicide [1]. Unfortunately...
Show MoreDear Editor,
Clearly outlined prospects for further research - I congratulate Dr. Sinyor and colleagues for their excellent study about potential factors of media reports on suicide deaths in the July 2018 issue of the CMAJ [1]. CMAJ readers will probably be interested to know that these media's interactions on suicidal behavior and contagion (Werther vs. Papageno effect) are also currently being investigated in many other countries such as Austria, Germany, China, India, United Kingdom, Ireland or Sri Lanka [2-7].
For example, in German-speaking countries, when the term "free death" (in German: Freitod) is used in the news framework instead of the terms "suicide" or "self-murder" (in German: Selbstmord), readers seem to have a greater understanding of suicide among individuals with incurable diseases [2]. However, suicidal persons do not make a free, rational decision that the term "free death" supposedly implies (i.e., an emotional tunnel vision of one's own life and environment). Unfortunately, the problematic suicide referents "free death" and "self-murder" (allegedly related to crime) are still used regularly in German-speaking countries, although the term "suicide" is recommended for media reports [2, 8].
I fully agree that the important findings of the authors should be included in the development of future media guidelines for reporting on suicide [1]. Unfortunately, a large majority of newspapers and online publications do not yet follow the principles of good media reporting of suicides, as the current data show [3-5, 7, 9].
Sincerely,
Dr. Martin Hofmeister, Consumer Centre of the German Federal State of Bavaria, Department Food and Nutrition, Germany
References
1. Sinyor M, Schaffer A, Nishikawa Y, Redelmeier DA, Niederkrotenthaler T, Sareen J, et al. The association between suicide deaths and putatively harmful and protective factors in media reports. CMAJ 2018;190:E900-7.
2. Arendt F, Scherr S, Niederkrotenthaler T, Till B. The role of language in suicide reporting: Investigating the influence of problematic suicide referents. Soc Sci Med 2018;208:165-71.
3. Chu X, Zhang X, Cheng P, Schwebel DC, Hu G. Assessing the use of media reporting recommendations by the World Health Organization in suicide news published in the most influential media sources in China, 2003-2015. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018;15:E451.
4. Armstrong G, Vijayakumar L, Niederkrotenthaler T, Jayaseelan M, Kannan R, Pirkis J, et al. Assessing the quality of media reporting of suicide news in India against World Health Organization guidelines: A content analysis study of nine major newspapers in Tamil Nadu. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2018 May 1:4867418772343. doi: 10.1177/0004867418772343. [Epub ahead of print].
5. McTernan N, Spillane A, Cully G, Cusack E, O'Reilly T, Arensman E. Media reporting of suicide and adherence to media guidelines. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2018 Jul 1:20764018784624. doi: 10.1177/0020764018784624. [Epub ahead of print].
6. Marzano L, Fraser L, Scally M, Farley S, Hawton K. News coverage of suicidal behavior in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Crisis 2018 Jul 27:1-11. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000533. [Epub ahead of print].
7. Brandt Sorensen J, Pearson M, Andersen MW, Weerasinghe M, Rathnaweera M, Rathnapala DGC, et al. Self-harm and suicide coverage in Sri Lankan newspapers. Crisis 2018 Jul 27:1-8. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000534. [Epub ahead of print].
8. Arendt F. Framing suicide - investigating the news media and public's use of the problematic suicide referents Freitod and Selbstmord in German-speaking countries. Crisis 2018;39:70-3.
9. Utterson M, Daoud J, Dutta R. Online media reporting of suicides: analysis of adherence to existing guidelines. BJPsych Bull 2017;41:83-6.
Show LessCompeting Interests: None declared. - Posted on: (30 July 2018)Page navigation anchor for RE: Suicide and the MediaRE: Suicide and the Media
- Donato Gugliotta, family doctor, Quinte Healthcare
Very interesting study.
Would the authors consider a similar study or even an extrapolation to the association of the incidence of MAiD and the media?Competing Interests: None declared.