One followed by many?—Long-term effects of a celebrity suicide on the number of suicidal acts on the German railway net

Abstract Background Following the railway suicide of Robert Enke, a famous German football goal keeper, short-term copycat effects have been found. Main aims of the present study were to analyze long-term effects of this incidence and to compare them with overall national suicide data, as well as to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of affective disorders 2013-03, Vol.146 (1), p.39-44
Main Authors: Hegerl, Ulrich, Koburger, Nicole, Rummel-Kluge, Christine, Gravert, Christian, Walden, Martin, Mergl, Roland
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anniversaries
Anniversary effect
Athletes
Biological and medical sciences
Celebrity suicide
Copycat suicide
Famous Persons
Female
Germany
Germany - epidemiology
Humans
Imitative Behavior
Incidence
Long term effects
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Mood disorders
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Railroads
Railway suicide
Railways
Soccer
Suicidal behaviour
Suicide
Suicide - psychology
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Time Factors
Werther effect
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Summary:Abstract Background Following the railway suicide of Robert Enke, a famous German football goal keeper, short-term copycat effects have been found. Main aims of the present study were to analyze long-term effects of this incidence and to compare them with overall national suicide data, as well as to investigate possible “anniversary effects”. Methods For long-term effects, the number of railway suicidal acts in the two years before and after Robert Enke's suicide (10th November 2009) were compared. For anniversary effects, the corresponding 2-week-periods in 2009, 2010 and 2011 were analyzed. Incidence ratios with 95% confidence intervals were computed. Results Compared to the two years before Enke's suicide the incidence ratio of the number of railway suicidal acts in the 2-year-period following this event increased by 18.8% (95% confidence interval (CI)=11.0–27.1%; p
ISSN:0165-0327
1573-2517
DOI:10.1016/j.jad.2012.08.032