Abstract
Bridge et al. recently presented a time series analysis of suicide rates in the US following the release of the 2017 Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” Their analysis found a powerful effect of the show on boys ages 10–17 for nine months after the show was released in April 2017. I questioned this finding on two grounds. First, contagion would be expected to be stronger for girls than boys for this story, and second their analysis did not take into account strong secular trends in suicide, especially in boys from 2016 to 2017. I reanalyzed their data using a simple auto-regression model that tested for changes in rates after removing auto-correlation and national trends in suicide. I found that the increase for boys observed by Bridge et al. in April was no greater than the increase observed during the prior month before the show was released. There were also no effects in later months of that year. For girls, I found a small but nonsignificant increase in suicide in April that was unique to that month, potentially consistent with a combined protective and harmful effect of the show. In total, I conclude that it is difficult to attribute harmful effects of the show using aggregate rates of monthly suicide rates. More fine-grained analyses at the weekly level may be more valid but only after controlling for secular changes in suicide that have been particularly strong since 2008 in the US.
Highlights
A recent analysis [1] found an increase in aggregate suicide rates among youth ages 10 to 17 in the months following the release of the first season of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” (13RW)
Bridge et al attributed elevations in suicide much past the month of the show’s release, but these changes were more likely attributable to the large increase in suicide observed in boys for the year of 2017, a trend that had started in 2008
It is if not more likely that the rise in those two months was attributable to other sources that were responsible for the large increase in 2017
Summary
A recent analysis [1] found an increase in aggregate suicide rates among youth ages 10 to 17 in the months following the release of the first season of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” (13RW). This increase was surprising in that it was unique to male youth when the show focused on the suicide death of a high school girl and the many classmates whom she blamed for instigating her death. I reexamine the finding with regard to what can constitute evidence of contagion and how the recent trends in suicide in youth need to be considered when attributing changes in suicide rates to media events such as 13RW. A reanalysis controlling for those trends finds no evidence for boys and the possibility of an effect for girls.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
