Media Effects On Suicide

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between ages 15 – 34. Now, the question is where’s the effort to stop it? If 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental illness,

Healthy People 2020 is a government site that identifies health concerns based on statistics observed and collected over a ten-year period. Mental Health and Mental Disorders is one of the many health concerns or topics listed on their website and has been further subcategorized into objectives and goals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2015). The first objective listed under this topic states “reduce the suicide rate” (HHS, 2015). The goal of this objective is to “reduce the suicide rate by ten percent” (HHS, 2015). Suicide is prevalent among varying age groups, ethnicities, and genders (HHS, 2012). It is an increasing problem prompting Healthy People 2020 to label it as a Leading Health Indicator or an extremely important issue (HHS, 2015). To meet their goal, Healthy People 2020 partnered with the U. S. Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (NAASP) to create a plan that can be utilized throughout the nation. Their plan focuses on removing the stigma associated with mental health and mental health disorders while simultaneously building supportive communities with increased access to care, creating a standardized model promoting the collaboration of health care professionals in order to increase identification and data collection of high-risk patients and provide continuity of care, and ensuring the education and the adequacy of patient support systems.

The stigma society, TV and the world places on a suicide is just as bad and devastating s the suicide itself.

Suicide has historically been and continues to be a significant issue in the United States, for civilians as well as active duty military service members and veterans. While statistics surrounding suicide appear to be just numbers on a page, I personally implore the reader of the following paper to never lose sight of the fact that those numbers represent real people. Each one of those people, be they civilian or military, represent a loss of a father or a mother, a brother or a sister, a son or a daughter, a best friend, a comrade, …a person whose life, and that life’s potential, is now forever lost. The following statistics on suicide rates in the United States do not differentiate if the individual was a civilian, an active duty

One of the biggest public issues we have in this nation with suicide, is Montana’s suicide rate. It is such a big public issue because they have stayed in the top 5 for suicide rates for 35 years (Uken). The public issue of mental illness is what causes

The goal of this organization is to, first and for most, reduce the number of suicides across the world. The campaign is designed to inform readers of the facts of suicide and the five signs to notice if someone is suffering. The goal of the campaign is to reduce the stigma on suicide by informing the world of the truth about suicide and mental illness and make it easier to talk about, instead of a feared topic that should be avoided. The organization does take donations, but more importantly offers a pledge for people to take to know the five signs that someone is suffering and inform those who pledge as to how to help when a loved one needs it. People can pledge as individuals or as groups, such as the entire state of New Hampshire. By informing people of the issue, signs and solutions, the numbers of those who receive the help that they need and deserve will grow and the numbers of suicides will be reduced. The pledge is easy to take and can be done in a short amount of time. Millions have already pledged to help the solution and millions more will as time goes on and the campaign reaches all areas of the United States, and the world. (Campaign to Change Direction). (Susman, David Ph.D. (2015, April 19)).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Vital Statistics reported that Suicide was the 10th leading of cause of death within the United States in 2013, accounting for approximately 41,149 deaths per year or 112 deaths per day (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). The CDC Division of Violence Prevention defines suicide as “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with any intent to die as a result of the behavior” (CDC, 2015, pg. 1). Suicide rates have continued to rise each year since 2000, despite being identified as a leading health indicator in Healthy People 2010 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Suicide rates are expressed by the number of suicide deaths that occur for every 100,000 in a population. In 2012, suicide rates increased to 12.3 per 100,000 compared to data from 2000, which reported 10.4 suicide deaths per 100,000. According to records from 1999-2013, suicide rates in Montana have been consistently higher than the national average (Montana Vital Statistics, 2013). The current Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicator goal is to reduce the suicide rate from 11.3 to 10.2 suicide deaths per 100,000 population (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Suicide is a national and

We all have faced difficult situations that have evoked disturbingly negative thoughts. While many seek a therapeutic way of coping with the predicaments that they face, others turn to absurd forms of escape. Unfortunately, two destructive forms of escape are growing rampantly; homicides and suicides. According to the article Is Suicide a More Present Danger Than Murder?, it states that for every two homicides, three suicides occur (Radford). Even though it has been statistically shown that the national suicide rate is higher than the national homicide rate, these two issues are still equally daunting. It is possible that people who kill others and people that kill themselves share the same reasons for committing such acts. However, they each receive a different consequence in the end and each evoke a different reaction from the public. Although homicides and suicides are both extremely violent behaviors and can be caused by similar factors, each are perceived differently by society and affect different people in society.

Twenty-five percent of mental health service users reported “some form of discrimination from those charged with their care” (Bates & Stickley, 2012, p. 570). Student nurses working in the community setting observed the stigmatization of character blemish placed on individuals with mental illness by members of society and fellow health care workers. When working with the youth coalition of Shawnee, Oklahoma to devise a plan to help suicidal students at Shawnee High School, the youth revealed some of the student body’s beliefs about suicide and depression. The youth reported hearing other students tell suicidal students to “get over it” or to just “be more positive,” thus implying that the depressed student was not trying hard enough. They said that others students have joked about committing suicide or have jokingly told one another to kill themselves. The youth report that this joking has led to a sense of complacency and has decreased the seriousness of suicide in their school’s community. Members of the youth coalition also described the social isolation to which suicidal students are subjected. Even when suicidal students reached out for help from fellow students or teachers, they were often turned away because students and teachers did not know how to talk to a suicidal student This lack of knowledge resulted

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience of the media’s involvement in suicide rates in teens.

In fact the media leads us to believe that “most of us have come to regard suicide with an element of resignation, even as a particularly brutal form of social Darwinism” (Source A). The media portrays suicide as a form of survival of the fittest, showing us that that there is nothing that we can do to stop this. There are even studies shown in the media that tells despite “new generations of antidepressant drugs...crisis hotline centers [being] established in most every American city... today the nation’s suicide rate (11 victims per 100,000 inhabitants) is almost precisely what it was in 1965” (Source A) The media shows us that despite our efforts for suicide prevention there is little effect. At the same time the media misrepresents the suicides, “attributing the act to single factors such as financial disasters, broken relationships, or failure in examinations. [However] The most common factor leading to suicide, mental illness, is often overlooked” (Source B). The media tends to inform us of the obvious reasons for suicide the cause is much deeper than realized. Because Source A says that the media shows us that suicide is part of social darwinism, and Source B argues that the media misrepresents the cause of the suicide, they both succeed in acknowledging that the media is not reporting on suicides

Another important aspect of culture that contributes to suicide rates of both genders is stigma. In the 1990’s the U.S. the air force developed efforts to change norms around suicide prevention and to help increase awareness (Bilsker and White, 2011). This led to a subsequent drop in suicide rates. The case study demonstrates the correlation between stigma and suicide. In addition, data shows that on average, men support more stigmatizing attitudes than women. Men were more likely to say that they would feel embarrassed about seeking professional help for depression (Ollife et al., 2016). The male tendency to possess culturally stigmatizing attitudes towards suicide can put them at greater risk for committing suicide.

Suicide has been considered a taboo topic for far too long and a lot of stigma has been attached to it. While reporting suicide cases can help change public misperceptions about this issue and prevent such events, there is also a risk that these media stories can cause damage. Hence it is a very complex matter for a journalist to report.

Over the years, the publication of deaths has changed. There has been a general increase of media coverage around deaths surrounding suicides due to the increasing growth of social media and technology. A critical review on literature will analyze how publicized suicides in the media have influenced societal suicide rates. The literature reviewed will be analyzed in comparison to models of suicide from Emile Durkheim and Edwin Shneidman. The large theoretical issue of suicidal deaths will be examined in comparison to current literature precise to suicide coverage within the media. The media is a strong outlet that can influence the attitudes of society. With an addition of celebrity media coverage, it provides an even stronger media outlet. The coverage of celebrity suicides broadcasted through mass media impact’s societies by having a negative impact on attitudes of individuals causing an increase in suicide rates.

Death for any age, population, or community is a devastating risk of failing to reach the lowered suicide rates. Following a death by suicide there is a risk of a ripple effect. Siblings, parents, and friends are at higher risk of having depression, anxiety, and lifelong mental struggles (Caine, 2013). The risk of copy-cat suicides increases as well (Crosby, Han, Ortega, Parks, & Gfroerer, 2011). These risks should not be taken lightly, they are devastating and truly