PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
BACKGROUND: With the dishonor of being the highest suicide rated country in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, South Korea should take more initiatives in suicide prevention. Although the role of the media and its relation to actual suicide attempts has been tested and supported by many studies, the suicide reporting guidelines are not well followed. The purpose of this study is to examine how well Korean newspapers adhere to existing guidelines and to suggest limitation and improvements for the current guidelines.
METHODS: Five mainstream newspapers in South Korea, namely, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankyoreh, Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Daily, and Dong-A Ilbo, were chosen for the analysis. Using the Naver news search engine, articles dated from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017, were selected with the keyword \"suicide\" and advanced option \"printed newspaper.\" However, articles, columns, opinions, and reviews that utilized the word \"suicide\" in a general context were excluded from the final analysis. Finally, the number of cases was narrowed down to 368. Each article was analyzed using the guideline framework consisting of 13 items: sensational coverage, overstatement, direct wording, method used, details about site/location, photographs, suicide note, generalization, speculation, romanticization, interviews with the bereaved, help-seeking information, and public education.
RESULTS: More than 60% of the articles included direct wording (63.9%), mentioned the method used (68.2%), and provided details about the site or location (74.5%). Nearly half of the articles revealed the contents of the suicide note (44.6%). Less than 3% of the suicide reports had information about hotline logo or phone numbers (1.4%) and facts regarding suicide and suicide prevention (2.2%).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the guidelines were ineffective in their monitoring role and that most of the newspapers were incompliant with many significant guideline items in South Korea. Our findings not only explore the limitations of the current guidelines but also provide an important rationale as to why there should be stronger suicide monitoring regulation or an agency with sufficient authority to prevent suicide in a nation-wide scale.
METHODS: Five mainstream newspapers in South Korea, namely, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankyoreh, Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Daily, and Dong-A Ilbo, were chosen for the analysis. Using the Naver news search engine, articles dated from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017, were selected with the keyword \"suicide\" and advanced option \"printed newspaper.\" However, articles, columns, opinions, and reviews that utilized the word \"suicide\" in a general context were excluded from the final analysis. Finally, the number of cases was narrowed down to 368. Each article was analyzed using the guideline framework consisting of 13 items: sensational coverage, overstatement, direct wording, method used, details about site/location, photographs, suicide note, generalization, speculation, romanticization, interviews with the bereaved, help-seeking information, and public education.
RESULTS: More than 60% of the articles included direct wording (63.9%), mentioned the method used (68.2%), and provided details about the site or location (74.5%). Nearly half of the articles revealed the contents of the suicide note (44.6%). Less than 3% of the suicide reports had information about hotline logo or phone numbers (1.4%) and facts regarding suicide and suicide prevention (2.2%).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the guidelines were ineffective in their monitoring role and that most of the newspapers were incompliant with many significant guideline items in South Korea. Our findings not only explore the limitations of the current guidelines but also provide an important rationale as to why there should be stronger suicide monitoring regulation or an agency with sufficient authority to prevent suicide in a nation-wide scale.
摘要：
背景：由于成为经济合作与发展组织中自杀率最高的国家，韩国应该在预防自杀方面采取更多举措。尽管媒体的作用及其与实际自杀企图的关系已经得到了许多研究的测试和支持，自杀报告指南没有得到很好的遵守。这项研究的目的是研究韩国报纸如何遵守现有准则，并建议对当前准则的限制和改进。
方法：韩国五大主流报纸，即,庆阳新门，Hankyoreh,朝鲜日报,中央日报，还有Dong-AIlbo,被选中进行分析。使用Naver新闻搜索引擎，从2014年1月1日至2017年12月31日的文章选择了关键词“自杀”和高级选项“印刷报纸”。\"然而,文章,列,意见,在一般情况下使用“自杀”一词的评论被排除在最终分析之外。最后,个案数目缩减至368宗。每篇文章都使用由13个项目组成的指南框架进行分析：耸人听闻的报道，多报,直接措辞，使用的方法，有关站点/位置的详细信息，照片,遗书,泛化，猜测，浪漫化,采访死者家属,寻求帮助的信息，和公共教育。
结果：超过60％的文章包括直接措辞（63.9％），提到了使用的方法(68.2%)，并提供了有关站点或位置的详细信息（74.5％）。近一半的文章揭示了遗书的内容（44.6％）。不到3％的自杀报告包含有关热线徽标或电话号码的信息（1.4％）以及有关自杀和预防自杀的事实（2.2％）。
结论：我们的研究表明，该指南在其监督作用方面无效，并且大多数报纸都不符合韩国的许多重要指南项目。我们的发现不仅探讨了当前指南的局限性，而且还提供了一个重要的理由，说明为什么应该有更强大的自杀监测法规或具有足够权威的机构来防止全国范围内的自杀。
方法：韩国五大主流报纸，即,庆阳新门，Hankyoreh,朝鲜日报,中央日报，还有Dong-AIlbo,被选中进行分析。使用Naver新闻搜索引擎，从2014年1月1日至2017年12月31日的文章选择了关键词“自杀”和高级选项“印刷报纸”。\"然而,文章,列,意见,在一般情况下使用“自杀”一词的评论被排除在最终分析之外。最后,个案数目缩减至368宗。每篇文章都使用由13个项目组成的指南框架进行分析：耸人听闻的报道，多报,直接措辞，使用的方法，有关站点/位置的详细信息，照片,遗书,泛化，猜测，浪漫化,采访死者家属,寻求帮助的信息，和公共教育。
结果：超过60％的文章包括直接措辞（63.9％），提到了使用的方法(68.2%)，并提供了有关站点或位置的详细信息（74.5％）。近一半的文章揭示了遗书的内容（44.6％）。不到3％的自杀报告包含有关热线徽标或电话号码的信息（1.4％）以及有关自杀和预防自杀的事实（2.2％）。
结论：我们的研究表明，该指南在其监督作用方面无效，并且大多数报纸都不符合韩国的许多重要指南项目。我们的发现不仅探讨了当前指南的局限性，而且还提供了一个重要的理由，说明为什么应该有更强大的自杀监测法规或具有足够权威的机构来防止全国范围内的自杀。
