Citation

Scherr S, Reinemann C. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2011; 41(6): 624-634.

Affiliation

Sebastian Scherr, Carsten Reinemann, Department of Communication Science and Media Research, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00059.x

PMID

22050656

Abstract

Werther Effect research has almost solely focused on the behavioral level of media effects. Clinically relevant predispositions like depression as well as the moderating role of media effects on a perceptional level have been omitted so far. To bridge this gap, we reanalyzed the data of an experiment conducted by Rustad, Small, Jobes, Safer, and Peterson: volunteer students' ratings for their self-risk of depression and suicide as well as their perceptions of others' suicide risk were investigated. While a Werther Effect could not be observed, there is a general overestimation of media influences on others-presumed Werther Effects-that are moderated by the personal degree of depression.

Language: en