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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2/2014

01-02-2014 | Original Paper

The impact of newspaper reporting of hydrogen sulfide suicide on imitative suicide attempts in Japan

Authors: Akihito Hagihara, Takeru Abe, Megumi Omagari, Midori Motoi, Yoshihiro Nabeshima

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 2/2014

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Abstract

Purpose

An analysis model based on monthly or fortnight data is inadequate to precisely evaluate the impact of media reporting of suicide on suicide rates as well as the time lag from exposure to the report of a suicide. Thus, we used daily time-series data and examined the association between newspaper articles on suicide and suicide attempts in Japan.

Methods

The Box–Jenkins transfer function model was applied to daily time-series data for the period March 27–May 21, 2008.

Results

Newspaper articles on suicide using hydrogen sulfide at (t − 1) were related to suicide attempts at (t) (ps < 0.001 and 0.05). Newspaper articles on suicides using hydrogen sulfide on the front page at (t − 1) were related to suicide attempts at (t) (p < 0.00). The magnitude of the impact of newspaper articles about suicide at (t − 1) or (t − 3) on “copy-cat” suicide attempts became greater as the number of news articles violating the media suicide recommendations increased.

Conclusions

The time lag between exposure to newspaper reports of suicide and attempts was 1 or 3 days, and the magnitude of the impact of front page articles was about four times as great as that of suicide articles in general.
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Metadata
Title
The impact of newspaper reporting of hydrogen sulfide suicide on imitative suicide attempts in Japan
Authors
Akihito Hagihara
Takeru Abe
Megumi Omagari
Midori Motoi
Yoshihiro Nabeshima
Publication date
01-02-2014
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 2/2014
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0741-8

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