Lisa Marzano1, Monica Hawley2, Lorna Fraser2, Eva Harris-Skillman3, Yasmine Lainez1, Keith Hawton3,4. 1. Psychology Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, UK. 2. Samaritans, Surrey, UK. 3. Centre for Suicide Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK. 4. Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Abstract
Background: Associations between sensational news coverage of suicide and increases in suicidal behavior have been well documented. Amid growing concern over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates, it is especially important that news coverage adheres to recommended standards. Method: We analyzed the quality and content of print and online UK news reports of possible COVID-19-related suicides and suicide attempts in the first 4 months of the pandemic (N = 285). Results: The majority of reports made explicit links between suicidal behavior and the COVID-19 pandemic in the headline (65.5%), largely based on statements by family, friends, or acquaintances of the deceased (60%). The impact of the pandemic on suicidal behavior was most often attributed to feelings of isolation (27.4%), poor mental health (14.7%), and entrapment due to government-imposed restrictions (14.4%). Although rarely of poor overall quality, reporting was biased toward young people, frontline staff, and relatively unusual suicides and, to varying degrees, failed to meet recommended standards (e.g., 41.1% did not signpost readers to sources of support). Limitations: This analysis cannot account for the impact of reporting on suicide. Conclusion: Careful attention must be paid to the quality and content of reports, especially as longer-term consequences of the pandemic develop.
Background: Associations between sensational news coverage of suicide and increases in suicidal behavior have been well documented. Amid growing concern over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates, it is especially important that news coverage adheres to recommended standards. Method: We analyzed the quality and content of print and online UK news reports of possible COVID-19-related suicides and suicide attempts in the first 4 months of the pandemic (N = 285). Results: The majority of reports made explicit links between suicidal behavior and the COVID-19 pandemic in the headline (65.5%), largely based on statements by family, friends, or acquaintances of the deceased (60%). The impact of the pandemic on suicidal behavior was most often attributed to feelings of isolation (27.4%), poor mental health (14.7%), and entrapment due to government-imposed restrictions (14.4%). Although rarely of poor overall quality, reporting was biased toward young people, frontline staff, and relatively unusual suicides and, to varying degrees, failed to meet recommended standards (e.g., 41.1% did not signpost readers to sources of support). Limitations: This analysis cannot account for the impact of reporting on suicide. Conclusion: Careful attention must be paid to the quality and content of reports, especially as longer-term consequences of the pandemic develop.
Entities:
Keywords:
COVID-19; media; media guidelines; newspaper; reporting; suicide
Authors: Jane Pirkis; David Gunnell; Sangsoo Shin; Marcos Del Pozo-Banos; Vikas Arya; Pablo Analuisa Aguilar; Louis Appleby; S M Yasir Arafat; Ella Arensman; Jose Luis Ayuso-Mateos; Yatan Pal Singh Balhara; Jason Bantjes; Anna Baran; Chittaranjan Behera; Jose Bertolote; Guilherme Borges; Michael Bray; Petrana Brečić; Eric Caine; Raffaella Calati; Vladimir Carli; Giulio Castelpietra; Lai Fong Chan; Shu-Sen Chang; David Colchester; Maria Coss-Guzmán; David Crompton; Marko Ćurković; Rakhi Dandona; Eva De Jaegere; Diego De Leo; Eberhard A Deisenhammer; Jeremy Dwyer; Annette Erlangsen; Jeremy S Faust; Michele Fornaro; Sarah Fortune; Andrew Garrett; Guendalina Gentile; Rebekka Gerstner; Renske Gilissen; Madelyn Gould; Sudhir Kumar Gupta; Keith Hawton; Franziska Holz; Iurii Kamenshchikov; Navneet Kapur; Alexandr Kasal; Murad Khan; Olivia J Kirtley; Duleeka Knipe; Kairi Kõlves; Sarah C Kölzer; Hryhorii Krivda; Stuart Leske; Fabio Madeddu; Andrew Marshall; Anjum Memon; Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz; Paul Nestadt; Nikolay Neznanov; Thomas Niederkrotenthaler; Emma Nielsen; Merete Nordentoft; Herwig Oberlerchner; Rory C O'Connor; Rainer Papsdorf; Timo Partonen; Michael R Phillips; Steve Platt; Gwendolyn Portzky; Georg Psota; Ping Qin; Daniel Radeloff; Andreas Reif; Christine Reif-Leonhard; Mohsen Rezaeian; Nayda Román-Vázquez; Saska Roskar; Vsevolod Rozanov; Grant Sara; Karen Scavacini; Barbara Schneider; Natalia Semenova; Mark Sinyor; Stefano Tambuzzi; Ellen Townsend; Michiko Ueda; Danuta Wasserman; Roger T Webb; Petr Winkler; Paul S F Yip; Gil Zalsman; Riccardo Zoja; Ann John; Matthew J Spittal Journal: EClinicalMedicine Date: 2022-08-02