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The press may have contributed to suicide as a mass phenomenon during the nineteenth century. There is limited knowledge on how the press reported on suicide. We utilized a content analysis of suicide news during the time period of suicide rate's strong increase in Austria (1855, 1865, 1875, 1885), assessing variables related to the responsible reporting on suicide (RRS). Analyses indicate that the press showed low levels of RRS and the quantity of low-quality reporting increased during the observation period. Although causal claims should be made with caution, the findings are consistent with the idea of a long-term Werther effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The volume of Google searches for suicide-related terms is positively associated with suicide rates, but previous studies used data from specific, restricted geographical contexts, thus, limiting the generalizability of this finding. We investigated the correlation between suicide-related search volume and suicide rates of 50 nations from five continents. We found a positive correlation between suicide rates and search volume, even after controlling for the level of industrialization. Results give credence to the global existence of a correlation. However, the reason why suicide-related search volume is higher in countries with higher suicide rates is still unclear and up to future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]