Columbia study finds celebrity suicides trigger thousands to consider killing themselves

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Celebrity suicides can act as a "contagion" - triggering thousands of people to consider taking their own lives, warns a new study.

American researchers analyzed the "rapid and expansive spread" of suicidal behavior following the deaths of three high-profile names, including Robin Williams and Anthony Bourdain.

They found a thousand-fold increase in the likelihood that a person would begin to think about suicide following the death of Mork and Mindy star Williams, aged 63, in 2014.

They hope their findings, published in the journal Science Advances, will open new avenues for preventing suicides.

Researchers at Columbia University in New York City, developed a computer model to examine the dynamics underlying suicide contagion following the deaths of Williams plus 61-year-old Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade, 55, who took their own lives three days apart in 2018.

The team found that both the 2014 and 2018 events led to "large" increases in suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

They say their findings provide a framework for quantifying suicidal contagion to better understand, prevent, and contain its spread.

Study co-author Professor Jeffrey Shaman said: “The model we developed shows how suicide contagion, including both suicidal ideation and deaths, spreads quickly following the suicide deaths of celebrities whose lives and work are known and likely meaningful to large portions of the population."

Shaman has previously developed models to analyze the spread of both influenza and the COVID-19 virus.

The researchers’ model for suicide contagion has a structure similar to models depicting other infectious systems - including the number of people capable of transmitting the contagion and the number of individuals susceptible to “infection.”

The team said there is no single factor that causes suicide or suicidal thoughts.

But a portion of suicidal thoughts have previously been attributed to social, or contagious, processes.

Proximity to or familiarity with people who have thought about attempted, or even taken their own lives can induce suicidal thoughts or attempts among susceptible individuals, say scientists.

Suicide rates in the United States increased 37% between 2000 and 2018 but decreased 5% between 2018 and 2020 before returning to their peak in 2021.

The Columbia suicide contagion model uses two sources of data: the total weekly calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the US, currently known as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, were used as an estimate of suicidal thoughts, or ideation.

The second source was derived from mortality data in the National Vital Statistics System.

The model estimates that following the death of Williams in 2014 there was a "pronounced" increase in suicide contagion rates, including a thousand-fold increase in the likelihood that a person would begin to think about suicide.

Shaman says the result was a pronounced increase in suicidal ideation, manifested in a spike in call volume to 988 Lifeline.

He said: "The 2018 case is similar, although the magnitude of the suicide contagion rate changes following news of the Spade and Bourdain suicides was roughly half.

"Among the two celebrity suicide events, the number of excess suicide deaths was approximately double following the 2014 Williams event, potentially reflecting differences in communication and media attention following each event and the level of population connection with the deceased.

"In both the 2014 and 2018 simulations, the increased rates of contagion lasted about two weeks before returning to baseline levels."

The research team says that, with further study, the model could provide real-time estimations of suicide contagion and risk.

Study co-author Professor Katherine Keyes added: “Ultimately, our aim is to work toward a point where a suicide contagion model can inform a rapid response geared at preventing suicide."