Effects of media stories of hope and recovery on suicidal ideation and help-seeking attitudes and intentions: systematic review and meta-analysis

T Niederkrotenthaler; B Till; S Kirchner; M Sinyor; M Braun; J Pirkis; US Tran; M Voracek; F Arendt; M Ftanou; R Kovacs; K King; M Schlichthorst; S Stack; MJ Spittal

Journal article

Effects of media stories of hope and recovery on suicidal ideation and help-seeking attitudes and intentions: systematic review and meta-analysis

T Niederkrotenthaler, B Till, S Kirchner, M Sinyor, M Braun, J Pirkis, US Tran, M Voracek, F Arendt, M Ftanou, R Kovacs, K King, M Schlichthorst, S Stack, MJ Spittal

Lancet Public Health | Published : 2022

DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00274-7

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Abstract

Background: There is strong evidence that suicides increase after media stories about suicides by celebrities, particularly those that highlight the suicide method (the Werther effect). Much less is known about the Papageno effect—the protective effects of media stories of hope and recovery from suicidal crises. A synthesis of the retrievable evidence is lacking. We aim to summarise findings from randomised controlled trials about the effects of stories of hope and recovery on individuals with some degree of vulnerability to suicide. Methods: For this systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis, we searched PubMed (including MEDLINE), Scopus, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Scie..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Jane Pirkis Author

Maria Ftanou Author

Matthew Spittal Author

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Careers of Misconduct

This project aims to understand how legal and health practitioners named in multiple misconduct allegations make changes to their practice. ..

Grants

Awarded by Australian Government

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank Angela Clapperton and Katrina Scurrah for doing the risk of bias assessment. MB and SK acknowledge funding from the Austrian Science Fund (grant numbers KLI627-B30 and P30918-B27, respectively) . MJS is a recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project number FT180100075) funded by the Australian Government. JP is funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant (GNT1173126).