Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:1379-1383
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
Clustering of teenage suicides after television news stories about suicides: a reconsideration
RC Kessler, G Downey, JR Milavsky and H Stipp
Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48106-1248.
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.
