The Media and Suicide: A Nonadditive Model, 1968–1980

Support was found for the nonadditive model based on an interaction effect between media stories and the rate of unemployment, but it did not prove more powerful than an additive model.

Abstract

Unlike previous work, the present investigation tests a nonadditive model of the suggestion/imitation. Suicide stories are predicted to have the greatest effect on suicide in times of high suicidogenic conditions. The latter are measured in terms of unemployment. Data on the American monthly suicide rate are analyzed using Cochrane Orcutt techniques. While support was found for the nonadditive model based on an interaction effect between media stories and the rate of unemployment, it did not prove more powerful than an additive model. Future work is needed, however, for a systematic testing of the nonadditive thesis.