Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 28;13(2):e065456.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065456.

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: a content analysis of UK news

Lisa Marzano  1 , Monica Hawley  2 , Lorna Fraser  2 , Yasmine Lainez  3 , James Marsh  4 , Keith Hawton  5
Affiliations

Media coverage and speculation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide: a content analysis of UK news

Lisa Marzano et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been much concern and speculation about rises in suicide rates, despite evidence that suicides did not in fact increase in the first year of the pandemic in most countries with real-time suicide data. This public narrative is potentially harmful, as well as misleading, and is likely to be perpetuated by sensational news coverage.

Method: Using a bespoke database, we analysed the quality and content of print and online UK news (including opinion pieces) on the impact of COVID-19 on suicidality, based on adherence to international recommendations. χ2 tests were conducted to examine variability in relation to key characteristics (eg, type of publication) and to four 'restriction phases' (based on UK government official lockdown measures) over the first 14 months of the pandemic.

Results: We identified 372 stories about COVID-19 and suicidality in online and print news between the first UK lockdown (March 2020) and May 2021 (when restrictions were significantly eased in the UK). Throughout this period, over a third of articles (39.2%) and headlines (41.4%) claimed or predicted a rise in suicide, often attributed to feelings of entrapment and poor mental health (especially among young people) and fueled by expert commentary and speculation. Almost a third of reports were rated as being of negative quality (116, 31.2%), and at least half included no signposting to help and support. However, reporting improved in phases of less stringent COVID-19 restrictions and over time, with later articles and headlines including fewer negative statements and predictions about rises in suicides, and greater reliance on academic evidence.

Conclusions: As the longer-term consequences of the pandemic develop, and other national and global events unfold, it is increasingly important that the media, and the wider community of experts shaping its narratives, strive for a positive and evidence-informed approach to news coverage of suicide.

Keywords: COVID-19; journalism (see medical journalism); public health; suicide & self-harm.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: KH is a member of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England Advisory Group.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Daily coverage about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide in national and regional British news (23 March 2020 to 17 May 2021).
Figure 2
Figure 2
News coverage of COVID-19 and suicidality: proportion of headlines focusing on specific issues and populations. DV, Domestic violence.
Figure 3
Figure 3
News coverage of COVID-19 and suicidality: proportion of articles focusing on specific issues and populations.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Suggested COVID-19-related influences on suicidal behaviour in news headlines. DV, Domestic violence; MH, Mental health.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Suggested COVID-19-related influences on suicidal behaviour in news articles. DV, Domestic violence; MH, Mental health.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Matthews A, Herrett E, Gasparrini A, et al. . Impact of statin related media coverage on use of statins: interrupted time series analysis with UK primary care data. BMJ 2016;353:i3283. 10.1136/bmj.i3283 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Offit PA, Coffin SE. Communicating science to the public: MMR vaccine and autism. Vaccine 2003;22:1–6. 10.1016/s0264-410x(03)00532-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lancucki L, Sasieni P, Patnick J, et al. . The impact of Jade Goody’s diagnosis and death on the NHS cervical screening programme. J Med Screen 2012;19:89–93. 10.1258/jms.2012.012028 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Silas J, Jones A, Weiss-Cohen L, et al. . The seductive allure of technical language and its effect on covid-19 vaccine beliefs and intentions. Vaccine 2021;39:7590–7. 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.11.027 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Garfin DR, Silver RC, Holman EA. The novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) outbreak: amplification of public health consequences by media exposure. Health Psychol 2020;39:355–7. 10.1037/hea0000875 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types