Clustering of teenage suicides after television news stories about suicide

The New England Journal of Medicine
D P Phillips, L L Carstensen

Abstract

We examined the relation between 38 nationally televised news or feature stories about suicide from 1973 to 1979 and the fluctuation of the rate of suicide among American teenagers before and after these stories. The observed number of suicides by teenagers from zero to seven days after these broadcasts (1666) was significantly greater than the number expected (1555; P = 0.008). The more networks that carried a story about suicide, the greater was the increase in suicides thereafter (P = 0.0004). These findings persisted after correction for the effects of the day of the week, the month, holidays, and yearly trends. Teenage suicides increased more than adult suicides after stories about suicide (6.87 vs. 0.45 percent). Suicides increased as much after general-information or feature stories about suicide as after news stories about a particular suicide. Six alternative explanations of these findings were assessed, including the possibility that the results were due to misclassification or were statistical artifacts. We conclude that the best available explanation is that television stories about suicide trigger additional suicides, perhaps because of imitation.

References

Dec 1, 1977·Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal·J A Ward, J Fox
Aug 1, 1984·Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie·J FoxJ A Ward
Jan 1, 1983·Journal of Adolescent Health Care : Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine·D Robbins, R C Conroy
Feb 1, 1983·The Journal of Social Psychology·S Stack

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jan 1, 1994·New Directions for Child Development·G A CarlsonI Orbach
May 1, 1990·Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology·B S Centerwall
Jun 1, 2010·Journal of General Internal Medicine·David P Phillips, Gwendolyn E C Barker
Jan 1, 1994·Journal of Psychiatric Research·M B Jones, D R Jones
Dec 1, 1991·Journal of Adolescence·P Hazell
Feb 1, 1994·Social Science & Medicine·G SonneckS Nagel-Kuess
May 6, 1998·Pediatric Clinics of North America·C C Bell, D C Clark
Mar 29, 2001·The International Journal on Drug Policy·A J.M. Forsyth
Aug 1, 1988·Psychological Medicine·A Schmidtke, H Häfner
Aug 13, 1992·The New England Journal of Medicine·G R Venning
Aug 19, 1993·The New England Journal of Medicine·R Michels, P M Marzuk
Nov 11, 1993·The New England Journal of Medicine·P M MarzukL Portera
May 1, 1988·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·J L Woolston
Nov 1, 1988·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·D ShafferP Trautman
Nov 1, 1989·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·D A BrentM J Allan
Nov 1, 1989·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·A GarlandB Whittle
Jul 1, 1992·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·D A BrentK Harrington
Nov 1, 1992·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·D Offer, K A Schonert-Reichl
Jan 1, 1993·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·P Hazell, T Lewin
May 1, 1993·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·D A BrentL Liotus
Feb 1, 1994·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·D A BrentR Canobbio
Feb 1, 1996·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·A OhbergE Vuori
Feb 25, 1998·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·T J TaiminenH Helenius
Jun 1, 1992·Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica·T J Taiminen
May 7, 1994·BMJ : British Medical Journal·D Gunnell, S Frankel
Jun 1, 1997·Injury Prevention : Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention·V A ClarkeL W Green
Sep 1, 1988·Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health·G F MoensH Van de Voorde
Feb 1, 1993·Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health·B Cox, K Skegg
Nov 16, 2001·Psychiatry·B PfefferbaumD W Foy
May 1, 2001·Suicide & Life-threatening Behavior·M S Gould, R A Kramer
Oct 11, 2002·Suicide & Life-threatening Behavior·Alex E Crosby, Jeffrey J Sacks
Mar 16, 2005·Pharmacotherapy·David P PhillipsRosalie R Phillips
Mar 1, 1989·The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry·R D Goldney
Dec 1, 1993·The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry·P Hazell
Jun 11, 2005·The Journal of Psychology·Peter B Crabb
Mar 1, 1996·Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services·J Combs
May 1, 1988·American Journal of Public Health·D P Phillips, A G Sanzone
May 4, 2010·Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology·Mitchell J PrinsteinAnthony Spirito
Feb 1, 1988·Journal of Youth and Adolescence·S J Blumenthal, D J Kupfer
Oct 19, 2010·The Medical Clinics of North America·Rebecca Weintraub BrendelJudith G Edersheim
Sep 2, 2010·Social Science & Medicine·David PhillipsKimberly M Brewer
Sep 18, 2007·International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health·Andreas D Kappos
Apr 22, 2005·Suicide & Life-threatening Behavior·Steven Stack
Jul 29, 2003·Suicide & Life-threatening Behavior·Robin A RustadRebecca J Peterson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

The New England Journal of Medicine
D P Phillips, D J Paight
Journal of Adolescent Health Care : Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
D Robbins, R C Conroy
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved