Towards the Influence of Media on Suicidality : A Systematic Review of Netflix's 'Thirteen Reasons Why'
Guinovart, Martí (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Cobo, Jesus (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
González-Rodríguez, Alexandre (Hospital Universitari MútuaTerrassa (Terrassa, Catalunya))
Parra Uribe, Isabel (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Palao, Diego (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Online streaming series 'Thirteen Reasons Why' (13RW), released in March 2017, was criticized for its sensationalist portrayal of the main character's suicide, leading some people to voice fears of a global contagion of self-harm behaviors. The current investigation provides a systematic review of original studies analyzing the role of 13RW as an influencing factor for suicide. Articles were identified through a systematic search of Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, and a manual search of reference lists from inception until the 16 January 2023. Twenty-seven published articles were identified from an initial search of 496 studies. The positive effects of watching 13RW included a reduction in suicide stigma and a greater likelihood to discuss mental health concerns and seek for help. However, several studies reported negative outcomes, including significant increases in the rate of deaths by suicide in adolescents, the number of admissions for suicidal reasons, and the prevalence and severity of suicidal ideation and self-harm behaviors in vulnerable viewers. Still, due to methodological limitations, no causal relationship could be established. Preventive measures are required to alert of the risk and should be particularly addressed to susceptible subjects. Psychoeducational programs should be focused on this kind of phenomena in vulnerable populations.
Grants:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI21/01148
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Media ; Self-harm ; Suicide ; 'Thirteen reasons why' ; Werther effect
Published in:	International journal of environmental research and public health, Vol. 20 (march 2023) , ISSN 1660-4601

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20075270
PMID: 37047886

25 p, 1.5 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles