How media sources (television, newspaper, movies, internet) portray a suicide can impact whether or not others attempt to copy the act.
Parameter |
Encourage Copycat Suicides |
Act to Reduce Copycat Suicides |
notoriety of person committing suicide |
emphasized |
downplayed |
goal of wording |
intended to sell the media, sensational, glamorizing |
intended to help troubled or depressed readers |
placement and headline |
includes “suicide” or lurid descriptors |
downplays event |
description of method used to commit suicide |
lurid and specific |
minimal details |
portrayal of suicide |
described as the only way out or heroic |
describes alternative coping strategies |
photographs or images |
lurid and intended to draw attention |
none or emphasizes negative impact on others |
portrayal of impact on others |
insensitive or selects content glamorizing the suicide |
sensitive and emphasizes the negative impact on others |
suicide prevention services |
not mentioned or suicide described as unpreventable |
emphasizes prevention and gives specifics |
Specialty: Emergency Medicine, Critical Care