Mass media representation of suicide in a high suicide state in India: an epidemiological comparison with suicide deaths in the population
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- Mass media representation of suicide in a high suicide state in India
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Objectives Suicide rates in India are among the highest in
the world, equating to over 200000 suicides annually. Reports
of suicides are a routine feature in major newspapers in
India, and reporters may selectively present ‘newsworthy’
suicide stories. The aim of this paper was to systematically
investigate whether mass media reports of suicides reflect the
epidemiological data on suicide in a high suicide state in India.
Design We undertook a content analysis study to extract
sociodemographic data on suicides reported among nine
of the most highly read daily newspapers in the high
suicide southern state of Tamil Nadu between June and
December 2016. A total of 1258 newspaper articles were
retrieved containing reports on 1631 suicides. Two-tailed
binomial tests on aggregate frequencies assessed whether
the sociodemographic characteristics of suicides in the
newspaper articles were different to the population suicide
statistics for Tamil Nadu.
Results We identified some statistically significant
discrepancies between suicide characteristics in the
population and the media. Suicides involving females
(p<0.001), those aged under 30 years (p<0.001), separated
or widowed males (p<0.001), unmarried females (p<0.001),
those using methods with a higher case fatality rate (ie,
hanging (p<0.001), jumping off high structures (p<0.001)
and coming under vehicles (p<0.001) and those who were
students (p<0.001) or working in the agricultural sector
(p<0.001) were significantly over-reported relative to their
occurrence in the broader population. Suicides involving men
(p<0.001), those aged over 30 years and above (p<0.001),
those who were married and suicides by poisoning (p<0.001)
were significantly under-reported relative to their occurrence
in the broader population.
Conclusions The suicide characteristics in the print media
were not entirely representative of suicides in the broader
Tamil Nadu population, which may lead the general public
to develop misunderstandings about suicide in their state.
The discrepancies we identified will inform tailored suicide
prevention education for media professionals.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e030836. |
Journal | BMJ Open |
Volume | 9 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISSN | 2044-6055 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
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