Media and Suicide : International Perspectives on Research, Theory, and Policy

"Somewhere in the world, in the next forty seconds, a person is going to commit suicide. Globally, suicides account for 50 percent of all violent deaths among men and 71 percent for women. Despite suicide prevention programs, therapy, and pharmacological treatments, the suicide rate is either increasing or remaining high around the world. Media and Suicide holds traditional and emergent media accountable for influencing an individual's decision to commit suicide. Global experts present research, historical analysis, theoretical disputes (including discussion on the Werther and Papageno effects), and policy regarding the media's impact on suicide. They answer questions about the effects of different types of media and storytelling, show how the impact of social media can be diminished, discuss internet bullying, mass-shootings and mass-suicides, show the effects of recovery stories, and much more. The editors also present examples of suicide policy in the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Hong Kong on how to best communicate reporting guidelines to decrease the copycat effect, especially in less developed nations where most of the world's nearly one million suicides occur each year. Although there is much work to be done to prevent media-influenced suicide, this innovative volume will contribute a large piece to this complex puzzle."--Provided by publisher Introduction -- Media And Suicide : An Overview / Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Austria, & Steven Stack, Usa -- Research On Media Impacts On Suicide -- Why Men Choose Firearms More Than Women : Gender & The Portrayal Of Firearm Suicide In Film, 1900-2014 / Steven Stack, & Barbara Bowman, Usa -- Suicide Stories In The U.s. Media : Rare And Focused On The Young / Silvia Canetto, Phillip T. Tatum, & Michael D. Slater, Usa -- Mass Shootings And Murder-suicide : Review Of Empirical Evidence For Contagion / Madelyn Gould, & Michael Olivares, Usa -- Internet Bullying Differentiates Suicide Attempters From Ideators / Steven Stack, Usa -- The Use Of Social Media In The Aftermath Of A Suicide / Jo Bell, & Louis Bailey, U.k -- Suicide And Newer Media : The Good, The Bad, And The Googly / Jane Pirkis, Katherine Mok, & Jo Robinson, Australia -- The Heroic And The Criminal, The Beautiful And The Ugly : Suicide Reflected In The Mirror Of The Arts / Karolina Krysinska & Karl Andriessen, Australia --^ Suicide In Kabuki Plays / Karolina Krysinska, Australia -- Theories Of Media Impacts -- Why Media Coverage Of Suicide May Increase Suicide Rates : An Epistemological Review / C.e. Notredame, N. Pauwels, M. Walter, T. Danel, J.l. Nandrino, & G. Vaiva, France -- Papageno Effect : Its Progress In Media Research And Contextualization With Findings On Harmful Media Effects / Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Austria -- The Impact Of Suicide Portrayals In Films On Audiences : A Qualitative Study / Benedikt Till, Austria -- Between Werther And Papageno Effects : A Propositional Meta Analysis Of Ambiguous Findings For Helpful And Harmful Media Effects On Suicide Contagion / Sebastian Scherr, & Anna Steinleitner, Germany -- Policy Issues -- Suicide And Mass Media Reporting: The Very Beginning Of The Viennese Experience In The 1980's / Gernot Sonneck, Austria, & Elmar Etzersdorfer, Germany --^ Developing The U.s, Media Recommendations For Reporting On Suicide : A Comprehensive And Collaborative Approach / Daniel Reidenberg, Usa -- Raising Media Awareness In French-speaking Switzerland : Best Practices / Irina Inostroza, & Joanne Schweizer Rodrigues, Switzerland -- Reporting Responsible Portrayal Of Suicide : Lessons From The Uk And The Republic Of Ireland / Lorna Fraser, Lisa Marzano, & Keith Hawton, U.k -- Implementing International Media Guidelines In A Local Context : Experiences From Hong Kong / Qijin Cheng, & Paul S.f. Yip, Hong Kong -- Conclusions / Steven Stack, Usa., & Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Austria -- About The Authors. Thomas Niederkrotenthaler And Steven Stack, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Preface -- 1 Introduction -- Part I. Research on Media Impacts on Suicide -- 2 Why Men Choose Firearms More than Women: Gender and the Portrayal of Firearm Suicide in Film, 1900-2013 -- 3 Suicide Stories in the US Media: Rare and Focused on the Young -- 4 Mass Shootings and Murder-Suicide: Review of the Empirical Evidence for Contagion -- 5 Internet Bullying Distinguishes Suicide Attempters from Ideators -- 6 The Use of Social Media in the Aftermath of a Suicide: Findings from a Qualitative Study in England -- 7 Suicide and Newer Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Googly -- 8 The Heroic and the Criminal, the Beautiful and the Ugly: Suicide Re?ected in the Mirror of the Arts -- 9 Suicide in Kabuki Theater -- Part II. Theories of Media Impacts -- 10 Why Media Coverage of Suicide May Increase Suicide Rates: An Epistemological Review -- 11 Papageno Effect: Its Progress in Media Research and Contextualization with Findings on Harmful Media Effects -- 12 The Impact of Suicide Portrayals in Films on Audiences: A Qualitative Study -- 13 Between Werther and Papageno Effects: A Propositional Meta-Analysis of Ambiguous Findings for Helpful and Harmful Media Effects on Suicide Contagion -- Part III. Policy -- 14 Suicide and Mass-Media Reporting: The Very Beginning of the Viennese Experience in the 1980s -- 15 Development of the US Recommendations for Media Reporting on Suicide -- 16 Raising Media Awareness in French-Speaking Switzerland: Best Practices -- 17 Promoting Responsible Portrayal of Suicide: Lessons from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland -- 18 Implementing International Media Guidelines in a Local Context: Experiences from Hong Kong -- 19 Conclusion -- About the Authors -- Senior Author Index -- Subject Index In recent years, a great deal of interest has been focused on suicide in the elderly and in the young. However, in line with modem trends in psychology, sociology, psychiatry, anthropology, and other human health fields, interest has now shifted to suicide across the life span, from childhood through adulthood to old age. This book has been conceptualized within this developing tradition. There are various ways in which life's timelines can be conceptualized. Developmental theory, we believe, should be open-ended. This has widened-and will continue to widen-our understanding of many complicated human acts including suicide. Though suicide is in many ways the same across the entire life span, understanding the time-lines in the suicidal process is imperative. To do so, however, is, we believe, challenging. In this volume, we attempt to engage in the process of understanding suicide from a developmental perspective. To do this, we have been fortunate to obtain the cooperation of a highly competent group of contributors. One interesting footnote to our list of authorities is that they represent suicidologists from across the life span-a few who are at the beginning of their careers, a large number in their middle years, and a few who are in the Indian summer of their professional lives.