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Holiday-Suicide Link: The Myth Persists

Despite the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s nine-year effort to debunk the connection, newspapers continue to perpetuate the myth that suicides rise during the end-of-year holiday period. According to an analysis of news reporting during last year’s (2008-09) holiday period, the proportion of stories that supported the myth remained at approximately the same level as during

The Holiday-Suicide Myth: Newspapers (and TV Shows) Return to Old Ways

One of the more persistent myths about the end-of-year holidays is that suicides rise during this period. According to a recently completed analysis of news reporting during last year’s holiday period, there was renewed repetition of this myth in newspaper reporting. Despite the sizeable drop that occurred during the preceding holiday period in 2006, newspapers

Many youth expect to die early, new APPC study finds

Many U.S. youth ages 14 to 22 expect to die before age 30, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.  About one out of 15 young people (6.7 percent) expressed such “unrealistic fatalism,” the study concludes. “I am surprised that one in 15 young Americans report they will die so

Holiday-Suicide Link: Newspapers Turn the Corner

Newspapers are close to putting to rest the myth that the holidays increase the risk of suicide. A new study shows a dramatic drop in articles that – despite having no basis in fact – attribute the arrival of the holiday season with an uptick in suicides. An analysis of newspaper reporting released today by

Holiday-Suicide Link: Newspapers Continue to Perpetuate the Myth

Despite no basis in fact, newspapers continue to report on the increased risk of suicide around the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays. An analysis of newspaper reporting over the past seven years released today by the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that this story represents about half of all holiday-relevant suicide reporting. Stories linking