Suicide

An analysis of weekly suicide data finds that seasonal fluctuations can explain controversial findings that the adolescent suicide rate increased with release of “13 Reasons Why."

The false claim that the suicide rate rises during the year-end holiday season persisted in some news coverage through the 2021-22 holidays, according to data analyzed by APPC.

While the nation was in the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic during last year’s holiday season, not many in the media were focused on possible links between the holidays and suicide trends.

The holiday season usually has the lowest suicide rates, but news accounts persist in supporting the holiday-suicide myth. While the COVID-19 pandemic has increased risk factors associated with suicide, media should be careful not to make unfounded claims about suicide trends.

APPC stands by its reanalysis showing no clear effect on adolescent suicide from the first season of the Netflix series "13 Reasons Why."

Contrary to a 2019 study, a data reanalysis found no evidence of an increase in adolescent suicide rates after the release of Netflix's "13 Reasons Why."

Two-thirds of the news stories analyzed last year debunked the holiday-suicide myth, the false claim that suicides increase over the holidays, according to new research from the Annenberg Public Policy Center.