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Do Tamil newspapers educate the public about suicide? Content analysis from a high suicide Union Territory in India

Author

Listed:
  • Vikas Menon
  • Charanya Kaliamoorthy
  • Vivekanandhan Kavanoor Sridhar
  • Natarajan Varadharajan
  • Rini Joseph
  • Shivanand Kattimani
  • Sujita Kumar Kar
  • SM Yasir Arafat

Abstract

Background: Responsible media reporting of suicide is a key population-level suicide prevention strategy. Thus far, there has been no systematic analysis of media reporting of suicide in Puducherry, a consistently high suicide burden state in India. Aim: To evaluate the adherence of media reports of suicide against the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines in Puducherry. Method: We conducted a year-round content analysis of all suicide-related reports in the two most widely read vernacular dailies of Puducherry. We used a pre-defined data extraction form and coded each item based on the WHO reporting guidelines. Results: A total of 318 suicide reports were retrieved. Harmful reporting practices such as mentioning the method of suicide (99.1%), description of the steps involved (68.2%) and location of suicide (86.5%), monocausal explanations (91.8%), and inciting life events (52.5%) were common. Helpful practices such as mentioning warning signs (1.3%), recognizing links with mental health disorders (3.8%) and effects on bereaved persons (2.2%) were rare. Only one article (0.31%) included any content related to educational/preventive aspects of suicide. Conclusion: Media reporting of suicide in Puducherry, India, does not adhere to reporting guidelines and there is very little focus on educating the public about preventive aspects of suicide. Urgent efforts are warranted to improve the quality of media reporting which should include the development of national guidelines on suicide reporting and collaborative efforts that take into account barriers and perspectives of media professionals.

Suggested Citation

  • Vikas Menon & Charanya Kaliamoorthy & Vivekanandhan Kavanoor Sridhar & Natarajan Varadharajan & Rini Joseph & Shivanand Kattimani & Sujita Kumar Kar & SM Yasir Arafat, 2020. "Do Tamil newspapers educate the public about suicide? Content analysis from a high suicide Union Territory in India," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(8), pages 785-791, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:66:y:2020:i:8:p:785-791
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764020933296
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. V.V.S. Sarma & Sanjay Kumar, 2015. "Performance and Challenges of Newspapers in India: A Case Study on English versus Vernacular Dailies in India," Working Papers id:7686, eSocialSciences.
    5. Ueda, Michiko & Mori, Kota & Matsubayashi, Tetsuya & Sawada, Yasuyuki, 2017. "Tweeting celebrity suicides: Users' reaction to prominent suicide deaths on Twitter and subsequent increases in actual suicides," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 158-166.
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    1. Tosin Philip Oyetunji & SM Yasir Arafat & Famori Stephen Oluwaseyi & Obafemi Oluwasanmi & Michael Afolami & Faith Moyo Ajayi, 2021. "News reporting of suicidal behaviour in Nigeria: Adherence assessment to World Health Organization guidelines," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(5), pages 448-452, August.
    2. Vikas Menon & Sujita Kumar Kar & Marthoenis Marthoenis & SM Yasir Arafat & Ginni Sharma & Charanya Kaliamoorthy & Ramdas Ransing & Srijeeta Mukherjee & Jigyansa Ipsita Pattnaik & Nikhilesh B Shirahatt, 2021. "Is there any link between celebrity suicide and further suicidal behaviour in India?," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(5), pages 453-460, August.
    3. S M Yasir Arafat & Araz Ramazan Ahmad & Ayoob Kareem Saeed & Vikas Menon & Sheikh Shoib & Sujita Kumar Kar, 2022. "Quality of media reporting of suicide in Iraq," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(2), pages 443-448, March.

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