Citation

Scherr S, Markiewitz A, Arendt F. Crisis 2019; ePub(ePub): 1-5.

Affiliation

Department of Communication, University of Vienna, Austria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Publisher Hogrefe Publishing)

DOI

10.1027/0227-5910/a000584

PMID

30935243

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: There is limited knowledge about the effects of a workshop intervention on responsible reporting on suicide (RRS) by media professionals. The study aimed to test how a workshop can shape reporting-relevant attitudes and beliefs among media professionals.

METHOD: A pre-postintervention survey of Swiss media professionals ( N = 26, 55.7% male, M_age = 38.1, SD_age = 12.8, all Swiss nationals) was conducted. All participants received the same intervention and survey questions. The analytical focus was on within-person changes caused by the workshop intervention.

RESULTS: Among media professionals, the workshop intervention increased perceived knowledge sufficiency about RRS, raised awareness that RRS can save lives, decreased insecurities related to RRS, and reduced the misperception that there are no clear recommendations about RRS. LIMITATIONS: Despite the missing randomization of workshop participants, the repeated measures design allows to speak to the short-term changes in RRS.

CONCLUSION: An RRS workshop intervention has multifaceted positive effects on media professionals. The study found no evidence for unintended effects of the intervention.

Language: en

Keywords

media professionals; panel survey design; pre–postintervention survey; suicide prevention; workshop intervention