Citation

Shoval G, Zalsman G, Polakevitch J, Shtein N, Sommerfeld E, Berger E, Apter A. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 150.

Affiliation

Geha Mental Health Center, 1 Helsinki st., 49100 Petah Tiqva, Israel. shovgal@post.tau.ac.il.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16964158

Abstract

Portrayals of suicide in the media are controversial because they may impact on suicide rates and methods. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the promotion of a television documentary wherein an adolescent girl is interviewed about her suicide plan and subsequently commits suicide. National suicide rates during the 8 weeks prior to the program and the 4 weeks following it were compared to the same periods in the previous year. There was no significant difference in the rates of fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts before and after the program. There was a shift toward the method used in the film after the broadcast, but it was found to be nonspecific to that year. There was a significant decrease in the mean age of suicide attempters in the last promotional week prior to the broadcast compared to the previous year (p = 0.032). This finding raises the question of whether repeated showing of the promo is more dangerous than the program itself.

Language: en