Exploring the Impact of Suicide Prevention Research in Social Media

ICRC-S Webinar
Date:  August 14, 2015 - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm (America/New_York)

On Friday, August 14, 2015, ICRC-S hosted “Exploring the Impact of Suicide Prevention Research in Social Media,” with speakers Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, M.D., Ph.D., M.M.Sc. and Benedikt Till, D.Sc. Recent developments in the field of media and suicide research reflect a change in focus from traditional to online media and an increasing attention to stories of hope and recovery and their potential to help prevent suicide. In this webinar, the presenters focused on their recent research investigating how stories of recovery delivered via newspaper reports and fictional films impact various audiences. Furthermore, they presented findings on the role of the Internet in conveying information about suicide and suicide prevention in the United States and in Europe.

Archived Webinar

Event Presenter(s)

Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, M.D., Ph.D., M.M.Sc. is Associate Professor and Head of the Suicide Research Unit of the Institute of Social Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. He is co-chair of the IASP Media & Suicide Task Force, Co-chair of National Representatives to IASP, and the founding chairman of the interdisciplinary Austrian science platform Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research. In this role, he was awarded with the Erwin Ringel Award (Austrian Society for Suicide Prevention) and Hans Rost Award (German Association for Suicide Prevention) for the description of a suicide-protective Papageno effect of media portayals of coping with adverse circumstances. Dr. Niederkrotenthaler is principal investigator in several projects related to media and suicide and has so far written 65 scientific and educational publications in the area of suicide prevention. He is also an independent contractor in the U.S. Lifeline Crisis chat evaluation. From 2011 to 2012, Dr. Niederkrotenthaler worked as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, Atlanta. In addition, he served as a discussant of Aspirational Goal Number 10 Increasing help-seeking and referrals for at-risk individuals by decreasing stigma in the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Research Prioritization Task Force.

Benedikt Till, D.Sc. is an Assistant Professor in the Suicide Research Unit, Institute of Social Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. He has a doctoral degree in psychology (major: media psychology) and is experienced in quantitative and qualitative research methods. He is also a founding member of the Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, the Austrian platform for interdisciplinary suicide research and prevention. Dr. Till works in the field of media psychology, health communication and suicide research. He has conducted several investigations in the topic area of media and suicide and is author of numerous publications on the role of the mass media in suicidality and suicidal behavior. In 2011, he was the winner of the Star Award of the International Academy of Suicide Research for the best research paper published on suicide by a young researcher. Dr. Till is currently involved in a three-year project investigating the representations and effects of suicide-related websites on Internet users.