Media Coverage of Adolescent and Celebrity Suicides and Imitation Suicides among Adolescents

Abstract

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States. Imitation plays an important role in adolescent suicides. Identification theory suggests that media coverage of adolescent suicides can increase imitation suicides among adolescents. The present study examines this possibility using data collected from South Korea. It also explores the relationship between media coverage of celebrity suicides and suicide rates among adolescents. We found that adolescent suicides increase after media coverage of either an adolescent’s suicide or a domestic celebrity’s suicide.