How does news coverage of suicide affect suicidal behaviour at a high-frequency location? A seven-year time-series analysis
Authors: Marzano Lisa , Spence Ruth , Marsh Ian , Barbin Arianna , Kruger Ian 
Published: October 2024

Introduction

News reporting of suicide can have a significant influence on suicidal behaviour in the general population, especially following the death of a well-known individual. By comparison, the impact of reporting on suicides at well-known, ‘high-frequency’ locations are less well understood. We investigated the relationship between news coverage of suicide and incidents at a high-frequency coastal location in the UK over a seven-year period.

Methods

We analysed bi-directional associations (with daily and weekly lags) and Granger causality between suicide-related news in the UK (N=38,595, of which 789 focusing on cliff locations) and suspected suicides (N=278) and crisis interventions (N=3,050) at the site between 1stJanuary 2017 and 31stDecember 2023. Separate sub-analyses explored associations with repeat coverage and with headlines featuring explicit location/method details.

Results

Whilst coverage of incidents at the study site and other coastal locations represents a small and decreasing proportion of all UK news of suicide, 51% of all cliff-related news focused on the study site, often explicitly identified in the story’s headline (81%). There were significant but small correlations between volume of news coverage (particularly when method– and location-specific) and suicidal behaviour at the site, with fatalities increasing in the immediate aftermath of reporting. This effect was strongest in 2018-19 (which had the greatest volume of reporting and repeat coverage), but failed to reach significance in 2020-2023, when there were fewer reports, less repeat coverage, and no headlines referring to multiple deaths at the site.

Conclusions

Our findings underscore the importance of continued efforts to monitor and improve the quality of news and other media portrayals of suicide. Follow-up studies, including qualitative research with people with lived/living experiences of suicide, could further explore how different types of news stories and wider narratives might contribute to increases – and potentially decreases – in suicides at high-frequency locations.

Key Messages

What is already known on this topic

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Associations between news coverage of suicide and increases in suicidal behaviour have been well documented. However, recent evidence suggests that their relationship may be more complex than originally thought, and limited to specific types of reports.

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A recent meta-analysis found that reporting of celebrity suicides can have a meaningful influence on suicides in the general population. In contrast, general reporting of suicides appears not to be associated with suicide – but fewer studies have investigated their impact.

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Media portrayals that describe suicide methods have been associated with increases in suicides, but the impact of reports focusing on suicide locations – including ‘high-frequency’ locations – is less well understood.

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We therefore investigated associations between general reporting of suicide, as well as method– and location-specific news coverage, on fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviour at a high-frequency location in the UK.

What this study adds

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We identified small but significant associations between news coverage of suicide (particularly when method– and location-specific) and suicidal behaviour at the study site. This includes increases in suspected suicides in the immediate aftermath of reporting (generally within a day or two, and no more than 9 days later), and in crisis interventions in response to increased general reporting (regardless of method/location details).

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Our findings also point to the importance of volume of reporting and repeat coverage of ‘high-impact’ stories in assessing the potential impact of news coverage.

How this study might affect research, practice or policy

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Guidelines on responsible reporting of suicides are an important component of national suicide prevention strategies worldwide. It is therefore crucial that these reflect high quality, up-to-date evidence, relating to a range of reporting.

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Our findings have implications for reporting on suicides at high-risk locations, and follow-up studies to better understand the influence of different story-types and wider narratives on different audiences.