Who identifies with suicidal film characters? Determinants of identification with suicidal protagonists of drama films.

BACKGROUND: Identification with a media character is an influential factor for the effects of a media product on the recipient, but still very little is known about this cognitive process. This study investigated to what extent identification of a recipient with the suicidal protagonist of a film drama is influenced by the similarity between them in terms of sex, age, and education as well as by the viewer's empathy and suicidality. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty adults were assigned randomly to one of two film groups. Both groups watched a drama that concluded with the tragic suicide of the protagonist. Identification, empathy, suicidality, as well as socio-demographic data were measured by questionnaires that were applied before and after the movie screening. RESULTS: Results indicated that identification was not associated with socio-demographic similarity or the viewer's suicidality. However, the greater the subjects' empathy was, the more they identified with the protagonist in one of the two films. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation provides evidence that challenges the common assumption that identification with a film character is automatically generated when viewer and protagonist are similar in terms of sex, age, education or attitude.

Role of media reports in completed and prevented suicide: Werther v. Papageno effects.

BACKGROUND: Media reporting of suicide has repeatedly been shown to trigger suicidal behaviour. Few studies have investigated the associations between specific media content and suicide rates. Even less is known about the possible preventive effects of suicide-related media content. AIMS: To test the hypotheses that certain media content is associated with an increase in suicide, suggesting a so-called Werther effect, and that other content is associated with a decrease in suicide, conceptualised as a Papageno effect. Further, to identify classes of media articles with similar reporting profiles and to test for associations between these classes and suicide. METHOD: Content analysis and latent class analysis (LCA) of 497 suicide-related print media reports published in Austria between 1 January and 30 June 2005. Ecological study to identify associations between media item content and short-term changes in suicide rates. RESULTS: Repetitive reporting of the same suicide and the reporting of suicide myths were positively associated with suicide rates. Coverage of individual suicidal ideation not accompanied by suicidal behaviour was negatively associated with suicide rates. The LCA yielded four classes of media reports, of which the mastery of crisis class (articles on individuals who adopted coping strategies other than suicidal behaviour in adverse circumstances) was negatively associated with suicide, whereas the expert opinion class and the epidemiological facts class were positively associated with suicide. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of suicide reporting may not be restricted to harmful effects; rather, coverage of positive coping in adverse circumstances, as covered in media items about suicidal ideation, may have protective effects.

The gap between suicide characteristics in the print media and in the population.

BACKGROUND: Programmes to educate media professionals about suicide are increasingly established, but information about which suicide cases are most likely to be reported in the mass media is sparse. METHODS: We applied binomial tests to compare frequencies of social characteristics of all domestic suicides in the 13 largest Austrian print media in 2005 with frequencies of suicide characteristics in the population. Additionally, each reported suicide case was linked to its respective entry in the suicide database. We performed a logistic regression analysis, with presence of an article as outcome, and sex of the suicide case, age, religious affiliation, family status, conduction of an autopsy and location of the suicide as explaining variables. Time of the year and federal state where the suicide happened was controlled for. RESULTS: Binomial tests showed that suicides involving murder or murder attempt were over-represented in the media. Reporting on mental disorders was under-represented. In the regression analysis, the likelihood of a report was negatively associated with the age of suicide cases. Foreign citizenship was a further predictor of a suicide report. The methods of drowning, jumping, shooting and rare methods were more likely to be reported than hanging, which is the most frequent suicide method in Austria. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide characteristics in the media are not representative of the population. The identified discrepancies provide a basis for tailor-made education of mass media professionals.

[The "Werther-effect": legend or reality?]. / Der "Werther-Effekt": Mythos oder Realität?

In social sciences and in medicine, the term "Werther-effect" is used as a synonym for media induced imitation effects of suicidal behaviour. In Goethe s novel, the contemporary recipient could find a lot of details to identify with. One of these aspects is the detailed description of Werther s mental state, which suggests that suicidality plays a role in the novel a long time before the suicidal act at the end. Even though we find several reports on imitation effects connected to Goethe s Werther in literary works, the epidemiological extent of this phenomenon could never be determined. Also current social scientific research on the impact of suicide stories on suicidal behaviour could not completely remove the remaining lack of evidence of the phenomenon. Nevertheless, many studies support the hypothesis, that some aspects of quality of reporting could trigger short-term increases of suicides in certain population subgroups. In Austria, "Media Guidelines for Reporting on Suicides", have been issued to the media since 1987 as a suicide-preventive experiment. Since then, the aims of the experiment have been to reduce the numbers of suicides and suicide attempts in the Viennese subway and to reduce the overall suicide numbers. After the introduction of the media guidelines, the number of subway suicides and suicide attempts dropped more than 80% within 6 months. Since 1991, suicides plus suicide attempts - but not the number of suicides alone - have slowly and significantly increased. The increase of passenger numbers of the Viennese subway, which have nearly doubled, and the decrease of the overall suicide numbers in Vienna (-40%) and Austria (-33%) since mid 1987 increase the plausibility of the hypothesis, that the Austrian media guidelines have had an impact on suicidal behavior.

Personal suicidality in reception and identification with suicidal film characters.

The authors investigated the impact of suicidality on identity work during film exposure. Adults with low suicidality (n = 150) watched either It's My Party or The Fire Within, censored versions of these films not depicting the suicide, or the control film that concluded with a non-suicidal death. Baseline suicidality was measured with questionnaires before the movie. Identity work and identification with the protagonist were measured after the movie. Suicidality was directly associated with identity work during film dramas depicting suicide methods. The reception of suicide-related media content seems to partially depend on personal suicidality. Potential implications for suicide prevention are discussed.

Suicide in films: the impact of suicide portrayals on nonsuicidal viewers' well-being and the effectiveness of censorship.

The effects of suicide films on recipients' emotional and mental state, as well as the influence of censorship, was studied. Nonsuicidal subjects watched the original or a censored version of a suicide film or a drama without suicide. Data were collected by questionnaires. The viewing led to a deterioration of mood and an increase in inner tension and depression scores, but also to a rise in self-esteem and life satisfaction and to a drop in suicidality. There were no relevant differences between the film groups. The more a subject identified with the protagonist, the greater were the negative effects.

Can media effects counteract legislation reforms? The case of adolescent firearm suicides in the wake of the Austrian firearm legislation.

To assess the impact of the Austrian firearm legislation (1997) on adolescent suicides, we investigated time trends in youth suicide prevalence (1986-2006) with Poisson regression. A temporary increase in firearm suicides after the reform was observed, followed by a continuous decrease. The hypothesis that media reporting triggered the short-term backlash effect is discussed.