Problems posed by the Werther effect as a ‘net effect’: a comment on recent scholarly work on the effects of 13 Reasons Why

Abstract

SummaryRecent research estimated that an additional 195 suicides among 10- to 17-year-old youths occurred following the release of the television series 13 Reasons Why. There is an underrecognised aspect in this line of research that this effect represents a net effect based on different possible underlying patterns (e.g. +195/−0 or +395/−200).