Lesley Field felt moved to action after reading the disturbing and sensationalized headlines in yesterday's paper regarding a young boy's struggle to value his own life. Lesley just recently completed an internship with Sonoma County Department of Health Services, where she focused on developing communication tools around the topic of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma. Today she felt inspired to share some tips on communication with the local journalist who wrote yesterday's article. The journalist immediately responded saying "thank you for raising excellent points." Read Lesley's compelling letter below:
Hi Ms. Johnson,
I'm asking the Press Democrat to avoid sensational titles that include adolescent suicide or attempted suicide such as the recent title "Police: Boy, 15, shot in 'suicide by cop' attempt at Santa Rosa park".
Please consider seeking guidance from the Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Division within the Sonoma County Public Health Department on how to report these issues without potentially contributing to suicide clusters among teens in Sonoma County.
I encourage you to check out and possible consider joining Sonoma County ACES Connection http://www.acesconnection.com/g/sonoma-county-aces-connection; it is a local social network involved in the movement to prevent ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), heal trauma and build resilience. A large group of inspiring local leaders in numerous sectors (including education, healthcare, media, business and public health) are working hard and meeting regularly on building awareness and helping people heal from early childhood trauma. Teenage suicide among other negative consequences of ACEs can be prevented through a community network of support and guidance.
This topic is close to home, I have a 12 year old and 14 year old. My daughter attends Maria Carrillo High School where we were told yesterday the boy involved in this story attends school.
The following is information provided by the CDC regarding guidelines on how to avoid suicide contagion through careful media coverage of this topic.
ASPECTS OF NEWS COVERAGE THAT CAN PROMOTE SUICIDE CONTAGION
Clinicians, researchers, and other health professionals at the workshop agreed that to minimize the likelihood of suicide contagion, reporting should be concise and factual. Although scientific research in this area is not complete, workshop participants believed that the likelihood of suicide contagion may be increased by the following actions:
- Presenting simplistic explanations for suicide.
Suicide is never the result of a single factor or event, but rather results from a complex interaction of many factors and usually involves a history of psychosocial problems (12). Public officials and the media should carefully explain that the final precipitating event was not the only cause of a given suicide. Most persons who have committed suicide have had a history of problems that may not have been acknowledged during the acute aftermath of the suicide. Cataloguing the problems that could have played a causative role in a suicide is not necessary, but acknowledgment of these problems is recommended.
- Engaging in repetitive, ongoing, or excessive reporting of suicide in the news.
Repetitive and ongoing coverage, or prominent coverage, of a suicide tends to promote and maintain a preoccupation with suicide among at-risk persons, especially among persons 15-24 years of age. This preoccupation appears to be associated with suicide contagion. Information presented to the media should include the association between such coverage and the potential for suicide contagion. Public officials and media representatives should discuss alternative approaches for coverage of newsworthy suicide stories.
- Providing sensational coverage of suicide.
By its nature, news coverage of a suicidal event tends to heighten the general public's preoccupation with suicide. This reaction is also believed to be associated with contagion and the development of suicide clusters. Public officials can help minimize sensationalism by limiting, as much as possible, morbid details in their public discussions of suicide. News media professionals should attempt to decrease the prominence of the news report and avoid the use of dramatic photographs related to the suicide (e.g., photographs of the funeral, the deceased person's bedroom, and the site of the suicide).
- Reporting "how-to" descriptions of suicide.
Describing technical details about the method of suicide is undesirable. For example, reporting that a person died from carbon monoxide poisoning may not be harmful; however, providing details of the mechanism and procedures used to complete the suicide may facilitate imitation of the suicidal behavior by other at-risk persons.
- Presenting suicide as a tool for accomplishing certain ends.
Suicide is usually a rare act of a troubled or depressed person. Presen- tation of suicide as a means of coping with personal problems (e.g., the break-up of a relationship or retaliation against parental discipline) may suggest suicide as a potential coping mechanism to at-risk persons. Although such factors often seem to trigger a suicidal act, other psychopathological problems are almost always involved. If suicide is presented as an effective means for accomplishing specific ends, it may be perceived by a potentially suicidal person as an attractive solution.
- Glorifying suicide or persons who commit suicide.
News coverage is less likely to contribute to suicide contagion when reports of community expressions of grief (e.g., public eulogies, flying flags at half-mast, and erecting permanent public memorials) are minimized. Such actions may contribute to suicide contagion by suggesting to susceptible persons that society is honoring the suicidal behavior of the deceased person, rather than mourning the person's death.
- Focusing on the suicide completer's positive characteristics.
Empathy for family and friends often leads to a focus on reporting the positive aspects of a suicide completer's life. For example, friends or teachers may be quoted as saying the deceased person "was a great kid" or "had a bright future," and they avoid mentioning the troubles and problems that the deceased person experienced. As a result, statements venerating the deceased person are often reported in the news. However, if the suicide completer's problems are not acknowledged in the presence of these laudatory statements, suicidal behavior may appear attractive to other at-risk persons -- especially those who rarely receive positive reinforcement for desirable behaviors.
CONCLUSION
In addition to recognizing the types of news coverage that can promote suicide contagion, the workshop participants strongly agreed that reporting of suicide can have several direct benefits. Specifically, community efforts to address this problem can be strengthened by news coverage that describes the help and support available in a community, explains how to identify persons at high risk for suicide, or presents information about risk factors for suicide. An ongoing dialogue between news media professionals and health and other public officials is the key to facilitating the reporting of this information.
Thank you for your time reading this and your consideration of these concerns.
Best regards,
Lesley Field
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