Skip to main content
Log in

Preventing suicide by influencing mass-media reporting. The Viennese experience 1980–1996

  • Published:
Archives of Suicide Research

Abstract

This paper reports a field experiment concerning mass-media and suicide. After the implementation of the subway system in Vienna in 1978, it became increasingly acceptable as means to commit suicide, with the suicide rates showing a sharp increase. This and the fact that the mass-media reported about these events in a very dramatic way, lead to the formation of a study-group of the Austrian Association for Suicide Prevention (ÖVSKK), which developed media guidelines and launched a media campaign in mid-1987. Subsequently, the media reports changed markedly and the number of subway-suicides and -attempts dropped more than 80% from the first to the second half of 1987, remaining at a rather low level since. Conclusions regarding the possible reduction of imitative suicidal behaviour by influencing mass-media-reports are drawn. Experiences from the media campaign are presented, as well as considerations about further research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abend, S. M. & Porder, M. S. (1986). Identification in the neurosis. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 67, 201-208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berman, A. L. (1988). Fictional depiction of suicide in television films and imitation effects. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 982-986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callahan, J. (1996). Negative effects of a school suicide postvention program -Acase example. Crisis, 17, 108-115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantor, C. H. & Sheehan, P. W. (1996). Violence and media reports - A connection with Hungerford? Archives of Suicide Research, 2, 255-266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, M. S. & Shaffer, D. (1986). The impact of suicide in television movies. Evidence of imitation. New England Journal of Medicine, 315, 690-694.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazell, P. (1993). Adolescent suicide clusters: Evidence, mechanisms and prevention. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 27, 653-665.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C. (1988). Clustering of teenage suicides after television news stories about suicide: A reconsideration. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 1379-1383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, G. (1996). The influence of television suicide in a normal adolescent population. Archives of Suicide Research, 2, 103-117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merskey, H. (1996). Influences of the media: A powerful what? The Lancet, 347, 416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D. P. (1974). The influence of suggestion on suicide: Substantive and theoretical implications of the Werther effect. American Sociological Review, 39, 240-253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D. P. (1977). Motor vehicle fatalities increase just after publicized suicide stories. Science, 196, 1464-1465.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D. P. (1978). Airplane accident fatalities increase just after stories about murder and suicide. Science, 201, 148-150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D. P. (1982). The impact of fictional television stories on U.S. adult fatalities: New evidence on the effect of the mass media on violence. American Journal of Sociology, 87, 1340-1359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D. P. & Carstensen, L. L. (1986). Clustering of teenage suicides after television news stories about suicide. New England Journal of Medicine, 315, 685-689.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D. P. & Lesyna, K. (1995). Suicide and the media research and policy implications. In R. F. W. Diekstra, W. Gulbinat, I. Kienhorst & D. De Leo (Eds.), Preventive strategies on suicide(pp. 231-261). Leiden: E.J. Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidtke, A. & Häfner, A. (1988). The Werther effect after television films: New evidence for an old hypothesis. Psychological Medicine, 18, 665-676.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonneck, G., Etzersdorfer, E. & Nagel-Kuess, S. (1994). Imitative suicide on the Viennese subway. Social Science and Medicine, 38, 453-457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taiminen, T. J. (1992). Projective identification and suicide contagion. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 85, 449-452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zemishlany, Z., Weinberger, A., Ben-Bassat, M. & Mell, H. (1987). An epidemic of suicide epidemics by burning in a psychiatric hospital. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 704-706.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Etzersdorfer, E., Sonneck, G. Preventing suicide by influencing mass-media reporting. The Viennese experience 1980–1996. Archives of Suicide Research 4, 67–74 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009691903261

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009691903261

Navigation