The Werther Effect Is Real

"The history of suicide is replete with instances of copycat behavior, sometimes referred to as the Werther Effect. The name comes from The Sorrows of Young Werther, a 1774 novel by Goethe. In it, the title character, a popular young man who dresses in the style of the day, is angst-ridden because his love for a married woman is unrequited. Despondent, he kills himself. The book's success is credited with inspiring a string of real-life suicides by young men who killed themselves in imitative fashion."

"In 1933, a Japanese student made headlines when she jumped into the center of Mount Mihara, an active volcano on the island of Izu Oshima. Following her death, more than 900 people also jumped into the volcano. Eventually, the deaths subsided, partly due to increased security and partly the result of a new rule that made it illegal to buy a one-way ticket to the island."

"In 1983, one person jumped in front of a subway train in Vienna. A year later, seven people died that way. The following year, there were 10 deaths (three other jumpers lived). In 1987, 11 people died. Only after Austrian media toned down coverage did suicides diminish."

Suicide contagion, termed the Werther Effect after Goethe's 1774 novel that inspired copycat suicides, describes how publicized suicides trigger imitative deaths among vulnerable populations. Historical examples demonstrate this pattern across centuries and cultures. In 1792, twelve French soldiers hanged themselves from the same beam after one soldier's death. In 1933, over 900 people jumped into Mount Mihara volcano following a Japanese student's suicide. Vienna experienced escalating subway train suicides from 1983 to 1987, with deaths declining only after media reduced coverage. These incidents reveal how specific locations become focal points for suicidal behavior, and how media attention amplifies the contagion effect, suggesting that responsible reporting and restricted access can help mitigate copycat suicides.

Read at Psychology Today