When Netflix released "13 Reasons Why" in 2017, there were mental health experts who argued that the show was too dangerous for its depiction of teen suicide.
That argument was backed by the Nationwide Children's Hospital study in 2019, which stated that the rate of suicide among 10 to 17-year-old boys increased in the month after the show's premiere. However, a new study that was published by a different author examined the same data as the 2019 study and they came up with a different result.
Daniel Romer, the research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania reanalyzed the data while adjusting for the broader increase in suicide between 2014 and 2017. The study was published in PLOS One, which is a peer-reviewed journal that was published by the Public Library of Science.
The lead author, Jeff Bridge, stated that they stand firmly behind their study results and they look forward to evaluating the reanalysis of Daniel Romer.
A researcher reanalyzed the data
When Romer took away the larger trend, he looked at what was left over to know if the show actually had an effect on the number of suicides. Romer found a bump in suicides for boys between the ages of 10 and 17, but it began in March and went into April. The show debuted March 31, 2017. He said that when there was a jump in suicides from March to April, it was hard to say that it was because of the show.
For girls who were aged between 10 to 17, there was a small increase according to Romer. Even though it was small, it does not mean it was statistically significant. It could have been because of the show, but because the jump is not statistically significant, they can't say if it was because of the show.
Romer also said that the producers of the show should recognize the potential for harm. It is possible that the effect of girls was more evident in self-harm, which would not necessarily result in more suicide. He also stated that the show should have a bigger impact on girls as it focuses on the suicide of a high school girl.
"13 Reasons Why" is based on the young adult book of the same title, written by Jay Asher. It follows the story of a teenage girl who left behind 13 audio recordings on cassette tapes before she killed herself. Each tape was addressed to a person who played a role in her decision to commit suicide.
A 28.9% increase in suicides after the show's release
The study done by Nationwide Children's Hospital in 2019 measured the monthly and annual rates of suicide reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2013 through 2017 among people ages 10 to 64. They divided them into age groups.
When they conducted the study, the researchers found a 28.9% increase in suicide rates on teenagers aged 10 to 17-year-old following the release of the show.
Romer said in the study that he takes issue with their analysis which did not take into account that the secular trend in suicide and the large increase that happened in 2017 in young men. Their analysis essentially identified the departure and attributed it to the show.
The director of the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children's and professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and behavioral health at The Ohio State University College of Medicine called Romer's claim that their study did not take the larger secular trend in suicide as categorically false.
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