According to a study, teen suicide rates rose after the start of the Netflix issue "13 reasons"

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Nationwide Children's Hospital researchers measured monthly and annual suicide rates reported to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2013 to 2017 among people aged 10 to 64 years. They then divided them into age groups.

The month that immediately followed the release of the show had a suicide rate of 0.57 per 100,000 population aged 10 to 17, the highest rate of the five-year study period in this age group. According to the study published Monday in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 195 months after the publication of the report, 195 additional suicide deaths were recorded in this age group.

This increase is mainly due to boys, whose suicide rate increased by 28.9% in the month following the premiere of the show. Prices remained stable for girls in the same month, although a teenager is the main character of the series.

"13 Reasons Why" is based on the book of the same title published in 2007 by Jay Asher, bestselling author. The series follows the fictional story of a teenage girl named Hannah Baker, portrayed by Katherine Langford, who leaves behind 13 mysterious audio recordings on cassettes after being killed. She addresses each recording to a person who, in her opinion, played a role in the decision to end her life.

Netflix said in a statement on Tuesday: "This is an issue of utmost importance and we have worked hard to ensure we handle this sensitive issue responsibly."

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among Americans young people aged 10 to 24, and about 4,600 lives are lost each year, according to estimates. CDC. Boys are more likely than girls to die of suicide, but girls are more likely to report attempting suicide. The new study did not measure suicide attempts.
Why & # 39; 13 reasons why & # 39; is dangerous

"Young people can be particularly exposed to suicidal contagion," said Jeff Bridge, first author of the study, director of the Suicide Prevention and Research Center at Nationwide Children's and Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at the Ohio State University School of Medicine, in a report.

Bridge explains that the contagion may be "favored by sensationalist stories or promoting simplistic explanations of suicidal behavior, glorifying or romancing the deceased, presenting suicide as a means of attaining a goal or making recommendations as to how to die by suicide."

& # 39; 13 reasons why & # 39; warn is a start, say the experts, but they want more
After the program was launched, many schools and school districts sent letters to parents warning them of caution and advice. Questions were asked as to whether the creators of the series were doing enough to describe suicide in a precise and responsible way. Discussions then took place as to whether the discussions generated by the series were useful or harmful.

Netflix has added a warning video and additional crisis resources for viewers.

Yet mental health experts quickly sentenced. In a blog post, John Ackerman, co-author of the new study, wrote at the time that when a suicide occurs, it is almost always at the heart of an intense emotional crisis and it is unrealistic for a teenager in such a state to build a series of elaborate recordings.

Ackerman, now coordinator of suicide prevention at the National Children's Hospital's Center for Suicide Prevention and Research, has also criticized the series's portrayal of the teenagers' common fantasy "You'll be sorry when I'm gone " explaining that teens should not be led to believe that something shocking and permanent is the only way to help others understand their pain.

"Describing suicide as the inevitable result of Hannah's victimization was, at best, a missed opportunity and, at worst, dangerous for suicidal people," wrote Ackerman.

Another recent study found that students who watched the entire second season of the series were less likely to report self-harming and end-of-life ideas than those who did not look at all "13 reasons," potentially because the characters are getting closer and discussing suicide. According to the results, students who did not watch the entire second season were at higher risk of suicide.

The authors of this study concluded that programs describing suicide can have both negative and beneficial effects on adolescents.

"Parents should be cautious when they expose young people to this series," Ackerman said in a statement. "With the third season of the series coming up soon, ongoing monitoring is needed to monitor the potential consequences on suicide rates in conjunction with viewing the series."

Jacqueline Howard of CNN contributed to this report.

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