Experts worry that detailed and sometimes grisly media and Internet reports of celebrity suicides can inspire at-risk people to copy the likes of Cobain. They say the way we talk about suicide can make a big difference in the way that those who are vulnerable, especially young people, respond to a highly publicized incident. To find out what both the press and families can do to prevent this phenomenon, NEWSWEEK’s Karen Springen talks to Portland, Maine, suicide researcher Loren L. Coleman, M.S.W., author of the 2004 book “The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow’s Headlines” (Simon & Schuster). Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: So far the coverage of Owen Wilson’s reported suicide attempt has seemed fairly reasonable and not too lurid. But what about Internet gossip sites and blogs? Are they a new way for misguided information to spread? Loren Coleman: I certainly have been seeing some unfortunate use of language, such as “he failed in his attempt.” You aren’t supposed to use words like successful. Successful really gives the idea that this is something we want people to do, and if you keep doing it and fail, which is another word you shouldn’t use, you really aren’t achieving some goal. Like he’s not man enough to complete the suicide. This really translates to the people we’re most worried about, which is young people. We want to give them the message to succeed in grades, in sports. Why would we talk in terms of success and failure in suicide? That’s what I’ve been upset about reading on the Internet chat. Why did he fail, or he’s a failure. Saying that he couldn’t even do this right is really demeaning to him, and not having much sensitivity to what suicide is about. The whole other thing was trying to figure out his motivation with a picture that appeared over the weekend of Kate Hudson kissing her new boyfriend, as if that was the trigger that pushed him over the edge. Suicide is not that simplistic. Suicide has many different factors. It does have a lot to do with loss. He [may have lost] that relationship, and he no doubt is upset about that, but there are probably a lot of other factors as well. The “why” of suicide is easy for people to talk about but not to understand.
What about the copycat effect? What concerns me is how celebrity suicides are copied by other individuals. The classic is Marilyn Monroe. After she died by suicide, there was a 12-percent increase in the suicide rate in the United States for a month. It translated to about 119 individuals—mostly women who were blond who used barbiturates. After Freddie Prinze used a gun to die by suicide, young Hispanic males used guns to kill themselves. I’m very concerned right now for young males, maybe even blond males, who overidentify with Owen Wilson.
Funny young males, too? The class clown. Maybe the one everyone ignores because they think he’s in such a good mood, but actually may be masking depression. The one thing we’ve got going is that Owen Wilson is still alive, and he’s hopefully still in recovery. Except for the chat sites I mentioned, I feel most people are really being very respectful of him, not intrusive, really hoping he gets help and concerned for his well-being. That will model for those people who are feeling similar to Owen Wilson and thinking they should get help too, and not attempt suicide. The copycat effect can be good as well as bad.
What’s the right way for the media to cover a celebrity suicide? You don’t want to be graphic.
But it’s already been reported that he slashed his wrist. Yes. The way the Kurt Cobain suicide was covered was with graphic photos of the death scene. The 70 people who have copied Kurt Cobain’s suicide around the world have often set themselves up in a chair, with a shotgun, with his albums, posing in exactly the same way as his death scene—even down to the method and the gun and the type of shotgun. The graphic details are unnecessary. I am very much pro news. [But] we don’t need to be sensational. We need to talk about how people feel about this, our concerns about the victims who are left behind, as opposed to “the bullet went through and out the back and there was blood splatter on the wall.” That happened with Kurt Cobain. It was almost as if the “CSI” aspect was visually and graphically written up in every article.
Should parents talk to their teens about Owen Wilson? One of the mistakes that people make is not communicating about suicide whenever it’s all over the TV or all over the news. Young people know what’s going on. They’re all hooked into the electronic network. For us to not communicate with our sons and daughters is a mistake. They’re dying to talk about death, they’re dying to talk about suicide. Suicide is not about death, and it’s not about dying. Suicide is about being in so much pain that you can’t go on living, that you’re trying to get away from a loss.
We don’t know what his loss is, right? [That he] broke up with Kate Hudson is what everyone is talking about. But it’s so complex. If we don’t ask our young people, our kids, they think we’re afraid to talk about it. We need to show them, I’m really here for you. If you’re thinking about killing yourself, talk to me about it. I want you to stay alive. Don’t be afraid to ask them. You’ve been talking about you can’t go on, or you want to sleep all the time, or your boyfriend left you and that’s really hard on you. Don’t let the initiative go by without being proactive.
What should parents say? How should they get into the topic? I was driving a group of my son’s friends from one place to another. They were 16, and they were talking about a friend of theirs who they were really worried about maybe being suicidal. I said, “Have you guys asked him if he’s thinking about suicide?” They said, “No. That’s so simple.” The next time they saw him, they talked to him about it and got him some help. Don’t be scared to use the word suicide. “Are you thinking about killing yourself? Are you thinking of checking out?” They’re thinking about it in their heads. Why should we be afraid to talk to them about something that might save their lives?
How should parents discuss it this week? “I know how much you liked ‘Wedding Crashers,’ and you’ve been reading that Owen may have been trying to off himself, and I know you’ve been pretty upset about your girlfriend breaking up with you. Have you thought about suicide?” You get to the place where they know you’re concerned, and then you help them get professional help. You just don’t leave any loose ends.
What about kids who want to talk about the gory details? They’re going to do that anyway. They really understand this is not the 1950s. People are going to be somewhat interested in the minutiae. You want to be alert. If a kid all of a sudden starts collecting knives or razor blades and is depressed or sullen or there’s a change of mood, you really need to be proactive and get some help. You need to ask people in more than just your own environment. Ask counselors, ask teachers, a coach, have they noticed anything different going on with Johnnie or Joan?
Would boys be at greatest risk? I would think that because of the modeling that goes on with copycat, yes.
What role does substance abuse play in the propensity for someone to try to kill himself? The act of attempting to kill yourself is painful. Hanging yourself, shooting yourself with a gun, all of those are painful situations. To lower the barrier to the suicide, people often use substances. To cross that pain threshold, often we find people are using and abusing substances above their normal rate. It definitely has a role. It’s not a causal role, but it’s one we want to look at. If you have a younger person who never drank before but starts to drink, it may be a warning sign. If you have a person that’s a moderate drinker, and all of a sudden there’s an increase in drinking or other substances, it’s a definite warning sign. Suicide is not just impulsive. It’s a combination of impulsiveness and planning for the event.
Could substances ever cause someone to commit suicide, or would they need the propensity first? That’s very murky. We know that alcoholism is not a cause of suicide, but we know that of the people who die by suicide, 17 percent are alcoholics. It’s what people do with the substances. It’s not related to the illness of alcoholism.
We don’t know what percent of people who commit suicide are abusing substances of any particular kind, right? We don’t.
But those who have problems with depression should be particularly wary of substance abuse, right? You lose judgment. You lose your sense of reality. You don’t realize that sometimes it would be better to talk to someone rather than going to the bottle or going to the drugs.
