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

Niederkrotenthaler, Thomas; Till, Benedikt; Kirchner, Stefanie; Sinyor, Mark; Braun, Marlies; Pirkis, Jane; Tran, Ulrich S.; Voracek, Martin; Arendt, Florian; Ftanou, Maria; Kovács, Réka; King, Kylie; Schlichthorst, Marisa; Stack, Steven; Spittal, Matthew J

doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(21)00274-7

Cited by 37 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Yet, the media can also have positive effects on suicidality. Indeed, media narratives of hope and recovery from suicidal crises appear to have a beneficial effect on suicidal ideation in individuals with some vulnerability [60].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social isolation and suicide risk: Literature review and perspectives

Motillon-Toudic

Walter²,

Séguin³

et al. 2022

Eur. Psychiatr.

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Background: Suicide is a major public health problem and a cause of premature mortality. With a view to prevention, a great deal of research has been devoted to the determinants of suicide, focusing mostly on individual risk factors, particularly depression. In addition to causes intrinsic to the individual, the social environment has also been widely studied, particularly social isolation. This paper examines the social dimension of suicide etiology through a review of the literature on the relationship between suicide and social isolation. Method: Medline searches via PubMed and PsycINFO were conducted. The keywords were "suicid*" AND "isolation."Results: Of the 2 684 articles initially retrieved, 46 were included in the review. Conclusion: Supported by proven theoretical foundations, mainly those developed by E. Durkheim and T.Joiner, a large majority of the articles included endorse the idea of a causal relationship between social isolation and suicide, and conversely, a protective effect of social support against suicide. Moreover, the association between suicide and social isolation is subject to variations related to age, gender, psychopathology, and specific circumstances. The social etiology of suicide has implications for intervention and future research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social isolation and suicide risk: Literature review and perspectives

Motillon-Toudic

Walter²,

Séguin³

et al. 2022

Eur. Psychiatr.

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“…For example, the release and subsequent media attention related to music artist Logic's song "1-800-273-8255" in the USA was followed by a very large increase in calls to a suicide prevention phone-line and a 5.5% reduction in the national suicide rate, although this reduction was shortlived (Niederkrotenthaler et al 2021). Additionally, media narratives of hope and recovery have been shown to have a protective effect regarding suicide ideation (Niederkrotenthaler et al 2022). Also, prevention-framed media has been shown to be valued by bereaved individuals (Skehan et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

News reporting of suicide in nurses: A content analysis study

Groves

Hawley²,

Lascelles

et al. 2022

Int J Mental Health Nurs

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Media impact on suicide is well-established. Groups at heightened risk of suicide, such as nurses, may be particularly influenced by poor news reporting. This study aimed to examine UK newspaper reporting of suicide of nurses and student nurses, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Print and online newspaper reports about suicide in nurses (including students) published in the UK between January 2018 and August 2021 were obtained and data extracted for analysis in collaboration with Samaritans' media advisory team. Content and quality of newspaper reports were examined using a content analysis approach. The study was compliant with the STROBE checklist. Nurse or student nurse suicides were reported in 134 articles, including 50 individual suicides. Most articles were acceptable against Samaritans' media guidelines. However, common problems included absence of signposting to support organizations and lack of suicide prevention messages. A minority of articles included methods of suicide within article headlines (18, 13.4%) and sensationalist or romanticizing language (14, 10.7%). Most contained occupation-related content. Many named the individual's specific hospital or university and a substantial proportion included occupation-related images. Working on the frontline was the most reported link between COVID-19 and nurse suicide. While reporting on suicide among nurses and students was largely acceptable, quality of reporting was variable. Occupation was often discussed, and most articles published during COVID-19 linked suicide to the pandemic. The research findings can help shape guidance on reporting of suicide in specific professions and occupations, including nursing, to encourage responsible reporting and reduce inadvertent promotion of suicide.

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“…Again, this implies the need to diversify coverage of PTSD in the Canadian media so that it includes a greater proportion of stories containing themes of hope, recovery and successful mastery of challenging situations. Indeed, inclusion of such themes may foster a Papageno effect (discussed in the introduction) which has been shown in various studies to mitigate suicidality in susceptible individuals, including those with pre-existing mental health issues such as PTSD [ 34 , 39 , 47 , 48 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the Mindset suicide guidelines do not include explicit bullet-points advising journalists to cover hopeful stories of resilience and mastery of crises. These are arguably the most important stories for suicide prevention and are instrumental in fostering a Papageno effect [ 34 , 39 , 47 , 48 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, the media can be a vector for increased awareness and education, such as pointing to available resources, highlighting stories of hope and recovery, and bringing attention to important social issues surrounding suicide [ 34 , 40 , 44 – 46 ]. Indeed, several research studies indicate a modest reduction in suicide mortality and suicidal ideation after suicide-related media reporting when the news focus has included content related to (i) mastery of crises; (ii) resilience in the face of adversity; and (iii) messages of hope and recovery [ 34 , 39 , 47 , 48 ] This has been labelled ‘the Papageno effect’.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Media coverage of Canadian Veterans, with a focus on post traumatic stress disorder and suicide

Saucier

2022

BMC Psychiatry

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Background A large corpus of research indicates that the media plays a key role in shaping public beliefs, opinions and attitudes towards social groups. Some research from the United States indicates that military Veterans are sometimes framed in a stereotypical and stigmatizing manner, however there is a lack of research on Canadian media coverage of Veterans. As such, the overarching aim of this study is to assess the tone and content of Canadian media coverage of military Veterans, with a focus on PTSD and suicide. The first objective is to document and analyze common themes, content and temporal patterns in Canadian media coverage of Veterans per se. The second objective is to examine common themes and content in the sub-set of articles having PTSD as a theme. The third objective is to assess adherence to responsible reporting of suicide guidelines in the sub-set of articles having suicide as a theme. Methods We used validated and systematic methods including use of key words, retrieval software and inter-rater reliability tests to collect and code news articles (N = 915) about Veterans from over 50 media sources during a 12-month period, with specific coding of articles about PTSD (N = 93) and suicide (N = 61). Results Analysis revealed that the most common theme is ‘honour or commemoration of Veterans’ which occurred in over half of the articles. In contrast 14% of articles focused on danger, violence or criminality. In the sub-set of articles with PTSD as a theme, over 60% focused on danger, violence or criminality, while only around 1 in 3 focused on recovery, rehabilitation, or health/social service intervention. In the sub-set of articles about suicide, there was generally strong adherence to responsible reporting guidelines, though less than 5% gave help-seeking information. Moreover, most reporting on PTSD and suicide focused on a single anomalous murder-suicide incident, with few articles about suicide prevention, helpful resources and modifiable risk factors. Conclusions The results reveal some encouraging findings as well as a need to diversify media coverage of Canadian Veterans. This could be achieved through targeted educational outreach to help Canadian journalists responsibly report on Veterans and their mental health issues.

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

Cited by 37 publications

References 32 publications

Social isolation and suicide risk: Literature review and perspectives

Social isolation and suicide risk: Literature review and perspectives

News reporting of suicide in nurses: A content analysis study

Media coverage of Canadian Veterans, with a focus on post traumatic stress disorder and suicide

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