Journal article

The association between suicide deaths and putatively harmful and protective factors in media reports

M Sinyor, A Schaffer, Y Nishikawa, DA Redelmeier, T Niederkrotenthaler, J Sareen, AJ Levitt, A Kiss, J Pirkis

CMAJ | CMA-CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOC | Published : 2018

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exposure to media reporting on suicide can lead to suicide contagion and, in some circumstances, may also lead to help-seeking behaviour. There is limited evidence for which specific characteristics of media reports mediate these phenomena. METHODS: This observational study examined associations between putatively harmful and protective elements of media reports about suicide in 13 major publications in the Toronto media market and subsequent suicide deaths in Toronto (2011-2014). We used multivariable logistic regression to determine whether specific article characteristics were associated with increases or decreases in suicide deaths in the 7 days after publication, compared wi..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (YIG-0-035-13). The sponsor had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.