Abstract summary 

Different words used for suicide (so-called suicide referents) have different moral connotations, and neutral referents are recommended in media reporting guidelines. To assess how different referents in media reports are related to actual suicides. Austrian news articles for each month between 2000 and 2021 ( = 276 months) were obtained from the Austrian Press Agency. Time series were modeled for media items referring to suicide as a crime [Selbstmord], an act of freedom [Freitod], or neutral connotation [Suizid]. Temporal associations with suicides in the month before, during, and after the reporting were examined. Terminology referring to suicide as an act of free will [Freitod] was weakly associated with increases in total, male, and female suicides and with suicides in up to 64-year-olds in the same month. No other statistically significant associations were found. No detailed content analysis of media reports was done. During times of prevalent use of referents suggesting suicide to be an act of freedom, there are small-sized increases in suicides. The simultaneous occurrence of this referent and suicides might reflect effects of a societal framing present in both the media and the community rather than a sheer media effect.

Authors & Co-authors:  Niederkrotenthaler Tran Till

Study Outcome 

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