Citation

Arendt F. Omega (Westport) 2018; ePub(ePub): 30222818782811.

Affiliation

Department of Communication Science and Media Research, University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Sage Publications)

DOI

10.1177/0030222818782811

PMID

29895217

Abstract

During the 19th century, suicide rates increased in many countries. The press may have contributed to this increase, even though empirical evidence is lacking in this regard. We assessed suicide statistics within five territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1871 and 1910 and combined these data with a content analysis of suicide reporting in five newspapers, each appearing in one of the five territories. The analysis revealed a covariation between the quantity of reporting and the number of suicides within all five regions. Furthermore, the quantity of reporting significantly predicted the following year's suicides. Although the causal order of suicides and the quantity of reporting should be assessed with caution, evidence is consistent with the idea that the press may have contributed to the establishment of suicide as a mass phenomenon. The findings also support contemporary guidelines for journalists, especially the notion of avoiding undue repetition of suicide stories.

Language: en

Keywords

19th century; Werther effect; media guidelines; suicide; suicide reporting