Bridgend suicides: Are the media to blame?

With 17 suicides in 12 months, there is one question the people in Bridgend have on their minds: Why? The families have been blaming the media for romanticising deaths and encouraging young people to commit suicide. And now they have academic support. The academic researchers report that there is "compelling evidence" that suicidal behaviour increases "after the appearance of news reports, fictional drama presentations on television and suicide manuals... There is clear evidence that reports in the media that give descriptions of the method of suicide and romanticise the deceased by giving descriptions of the attention they receive in the form of condolences and online obituaries give rise to other suicides."

Researchers' view:

*Most people who die by suicide have been suffering psychiatric illness and this is consistently under-reported.

*Voluntary restraints on reporting suicides by specific methods have resulted in abrupt and statistically significant reductions in deaths by those methods.

*Media portrayals that encourage imitative behaviour often name or depict a method of suicide. Of particular concern is coverage of celebrities who take their own lives. Depicting celebrities or fictional characters dealing with emotional distress in constructive ways can promote life and hope. Such presentations reflect the reality that most people who consider suicide never act upon their feelings, but find ways to solve their problems.

*Reports which portray suicide as a natural or understandable response to problems such as failure to achieve important goals, relationship difficulties or financial crises, promote imitation, as does treating suicide as a tragic or heroic act by someone who apparently had everything to live for. Media should resist showing or implying a person may be "rewarded" for suicidal behaviour, for example by achieving a reconciliation, or getting revenge or sympathy.

So says the research. What do you think? Are the media to blame?