Media coverage of suicide is now well known to have a significant influence on the suicide epidemiology. This influence is supposed to result from two opposite effects, the Werther and the Papageno effect. The former refers to the robust increase of suicide rates following the publication of a suicide story. This implies a suggestion process, i.e. imitation of the depicted death by vulnerable persons. The latter refers to the preventive potential of medias, which has been more recently discovered and is far less known; Papageno effect predicts that media can help prevent suicidal behaviors beyond a simple reduction of the Werther effect (Read More about Papageno HERE).

Here is our first reading suggestion, an editorial published on
August 22nd on the British Medical Journal, titled
“Suicide on TV: minimising the risk to vulnerable viewers“.

It deals with several current news, starting from the recent Netflix serie “13 Reasons why” and the news of the suicide of the Linkin Park’s singer Chester Bennington, their impact on suicidal behaviors and Werther effect. Then, it mentions some of the themes we have recently presented in the website, including the Papageno effect, and the Blue Whale phenomenon.

The complete reference is:
Arendt F, Scherr S, Till B, Prinzellner Y, Hines K, Niederkrotenthaler T. Suicide on TV: minimising the risk to vulnerable viewers. BMJ. 2017 Aug 22;358:j3876. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j3876.

The Editorial can be downloaded from the BMJ website (www.bmj.com).

Looking forward to sharing with you
the next scientific news and reading suggestions!

To know more, contact EPA- SSSP e-mail address:
epasectionsuicidology@gmail.com