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Suicides among American children aged 10 to 17 reached their highest level in 19 years in the month following the release of a popular television series that portrays a young girl ending her life. , researchers said.
The study released Monday can not prove that the Netflix issue "13 reasons" is the cause, but there have been 195 more young suicides than expected in the nine months following the release of the issue in March 2017, given historical and seasonal trends in suicide, the study estimated.
In April 2017 alone, 190 American teenagers committed suicide. Their suicide rate in April 2017 was 0.57 per 100,000 population, nearly 30% higher than the previous five years included in the study. An additional analysis revealed that the April rate was higher than that of the past 19 years, said senior author Jeff Bridge, suicide researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, in the United States. # 39; Ohio.
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"The creators of the series have intentionally portrayed the suicide of the main character, which was a very graphic representation of suicide death," which may trigger suicidal behavior, said Bridge.
Bridge acknowledged that one of the limitations of the study was that it did not know if a person who had died by suicide had watched the broadcast. In addition, the researchers were not able to take into account other factors that may have influenced suicides. These include the April 19, 2017 suicide of former New England Patriots player, Aaron Hernandez, and a man accused of a murder posted on Facebook who s'. is committed suicide the day before Hernandez. Bridge said that these deaths could not explain the peak seen by the study for the entire month of April.
The researchers analyzed data from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on deaths among Americans aged 10 to 64 from January 2013 to December 2017. Their findings were published in the Journal of the American Academy psychiatry of the child and the adolescent. Researchers have found no change in suicide rates among 18-year-olds and over after broadcast release.
The results are plausible and add to the evidence that convincing representations of suicide in the media can have a negative influence on young people, said sociologist Anna Mueller of the University of Chicago, not involved in research.
Lisa Horowitz, a co-author and researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, pointed out that suicide was the second leading cause of death among American teens and described it as a "major public health crisis". His agency helped pay for the study.
Teen suicide rates have increased in recent years and further research has suggested that bullying and the intensive use of social media could contribute to this risk.
Netflix has included warning messages in some episodes and has created a website with emergency phone lines and other resources. During the second season, the show's actors advised viewers to seek help. The third season of the series will take place later this year.
A Netflix spokesperson said the new study, in contradiction with research published by the University of Pennsylvania last week, revealed fewer suicidal thoughts among young adults who watched the entire second season than among non-viewers .
"We have just seen the study and we are looking at this research," he said. "This is an issue of crucial importance and we have worked hard to make sure we handle this sensitive issue responsibly."
Horowitz said the new findings underscore how important it is for parents and other adults to connect with young people.
"Start a conversation, ask them how they cope with the vagaries of life and do not be afraid to ask about suicide," she said. It's a myth that just asking could be a trigger, Horowitz said.
"One of the best ways to prevent is to ask," she said.
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