Clustering of teenage suicides after television news stories about suicides: a reconsideration

Abstract

A recent study reported a significant increase in teenage suicides after television newscasts about suicide in the period 1973-1979 and suggested that the increase might have resulted from an imitative effect of television. In the present study, the authors found no significant association between newscasts and subsequent teenage suicides over the period 1973-1984. Although teenage suicides increased after newscasts in 1973-1980, the authors identify reasons why this increase is not consistent with an imitative effect of television. Furthermore, during 1981-1984 teenage suicides decreased after newscasts about suicide; the reversal differs significantly from the association before 1981.