Suicide uptick occurred among teens and tweens following '13 Reasons Why,' study says
研究称，青少年自杀率随着《十三个原因》的播出而上升。影视剧真的回带来这样的负面影响吗？制作人与媒体们应该怎样更好的承担社会责任呢？本期Quriosity带你一探究竟。
Netflix released "13 Reasons Why," a series about the suicide of a 17-year-old girl, on the final day of March 2017. Immediately, the profitable streaming service received criticism from suicide prevention organizations for not portraying suicide in a responsible way. New research suggests that, as feared, the series caused a "suicide contagion" effect among young people.
2017年3月底，Netflix美剧《十三个原因》开播。这部剧讲述了一个17岁女孩自杀的故事。很快，这家营利性的流媒体服务平台就受到了自杀预防组织的批评，该组织指控它没有以负责的方式呈现自杀。新的研究表明，正如人们所担心的那样，该剧在年轻人中引发了“自杀传染”效应。
An estimated 13% increase in suicide among children and teens, ages 10 to 19, occurred in the three months after the show's release, the researchers found. This corresponds to 94 more suicides than would be expected, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
研究人员发现，在该剧开播后的三个月内，儿童和青少年（10至19岁）的自杀率上升了约13％。 周三发表在JAMA Psychiatry期刊上的研究表明，这相当于多发生了94起自杀事件。
"No effects were seen in other age groups," Dr. Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, lead author of the study and head of the Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion Unit at the Medical University of Vienna, told CNN in an email.
维也纳医科大学自杀研究与心理健康促进组组长Thomas Niederkrotenthaler博士是这项研究的主要作者。他在邮件中告诉CNN，“其他年龄段并没有受到这部剧的影响”。
Contagion effects from media
媒体的传染效应
While many called for a nationwide survey of death data following the series, "this had not been possible until the recent release of 2017 suicide data by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Niederkrotenthaler explained.
虽然许多人当时曾呼吁对该剧开播后全国死亡数据进行调查，但“那会儿美国疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）还没有公布2017年自杀数据，所以当时还做不到”，Niederkrotenthaler解释说。
He and his colleagues analyzed CDC data before and after the show's release in 2017 to estimate suicides among different age groups and to identify possible changes in the specific methods used. They also examined Twitter and Instagram posts to estimate the amount of social media attention focused on the show.
他和同事分析了2017年该剧开播前后的CDC公布的数据，以估算不同年龄组的自杀事件数量，并辨别自杀方式可能发生的变动。 他们还调查了Twitter和Instagram的帖子，以估计人们在社交媒体上对该剧的关注度。
The social media data showed that public interest in the show was highest in April 2017 and negligible after June 2017.
社交媒体数据显示，公众对该剧的兴趣在2017年4月达到最高值，2017年6月后降低至可以忽略不计的水平。
Shortly after the release of "13 Reasons Why," Niederkrotenthaler and his colleagues noted "a clear increase in suicides among 10 to 19 year old males and females" even after accounting for the seasonal uptick that generally occurs in those months.
Niederkrotenthaler及其同事注意到，在《13个原因》发布后不久，即使考虑到了通常每年这几个月，自杀数量会出现季节性上升，“10至19岁的青少年自杀事件还是有明显增加”。
The study "estimated 66 suicides more than expected among males, which is an increase of 12.4%, and 37 more suicides among females, which is an increase of 21.7%" between April 1, 2017 and June 30, 2017, the period of strongest social media interest, said Niederkrotenthaler.
Niederkrotenthaler说，该研究估计，2017年4月1日至6月30日期间，人们在社交媒体上对该剧的关注度最高，男性自杀事件较预期超过66起，增幅为12.4％；女性自杀事件较预期超过37起，增幅为21.7％。”
"The fact that this association was only seen in the demographic group that was similar to the 17-year-old film character Hannah Baker, and the stronger proportional increase among girls, as well as the absence of any changes in suicides in other age groups, is clearly consistent with a possible imitation effect," he said.
他说，“事实上，这种相关性仅出现在与电影中17岁的Hannah Baker类似的人群中，女孩增幅更大，而且其他年龄段的自杀情况没有任何变化 ，显然这个现象与模仿效应吻合。”
Imitation effects can be explained by vulnerability and "identification with the main character who dies by suicide," he explained. "Kids who are vulnerable to suicide, for example those who are having suicidal thoughts and identify with the protagonist Hannah Baker, are at some risk if they do not reach out for help."
他解释说，这种模仿效应主要是由于自身脆弱的性格以及“对自杀死亡的主角的认同”。“那些有自杀倾向的孩子，比如那些有自杀念头并且认同主角Hannah Baker的孩子，如果不向外界寻求帮助，就有可能采取自杀行为。”
Help can be found by speaking with a "trusted adult," he said, or calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255.
他建议，年轻人可以通过与“可信赖的成年人”交谈来寻求帮助，或拨打国家预防自杀生命线，1-800-273-8255。
Since it is "impossible to know whether people who died from suicide had actually watched the show," Niederkrotenthaler urged caution when interpreting the study results. He also lacked data for suicide attempts, although several US emergency rooms reported increases in self-harm among teens after the series streamed on Netflix, he said.
由于“无法确定死于自杀的人是否真的看过这个节目，”Niederkrotenthaler在解释研究结果时力求谨慎。他说，他还缺乏具体相关自杀未遂的数据，尽管数个美国急诊室报告表明，在这部Netflix的剧播出后，出现了更多青少年自残的案例。
Still, a separate study published last month drew similar conclusions to the new study. It found a 28.9% increase among boys who died by suicide in the month after the show's premier.
除此之外，上个月发表的另一项研究得出了与这个新研究相似的结论。 那项研究发现，该节目首映后的一个月中，自杀身亡的男孩人数增加了28.9％。
At the time, Netflix stated, "This is a critically important topic and we have worked hard to ensure that we handle this sensitive issue responsibly."
当时，Netflix表示，“这是一个非常重要的话题，我们已经努力确保能够负责任地处理这个敏感问题。”
Following publication of Niederkrotenthaler's study, Netflix said in a statement that both studies "don't explain the increases [in suicides] for girls in November 2016 and boys in March 2017 -- before the show had launched. Experts agree that there's no single reason people take their own lives -- and that rates for teenagers have tragically been increasing for years."
Niederkrotenthaler的研究发表后，Netflix在一份声明中表示，这两项研究“并未解释在该剧开播之前，2016年11月女孩和2017年3月男孩的自杀数增加的现象”。专家们一致认为人们不会因为单一原因自杀——而且，近年来青少年的自杀率一直在上升。”
In defense of "13 Reasons Why," Brian Yorkey, creator and executive producer of the series, and Dr. Rebecca Hedrick, a psychiatrist and series adviser, wrote in guest column in The Hollywood Reporter this week that the "unflinching" depictions of bullying, assault, depression and suicide portrayed in the series "helped lift the stigmas young people increasingly experience growing up today."
《13个原因》的制片人兼监制Brian Yorkey和本剧顾问，精神病学家Rebecca Hedrick博士在《好莱坞记者报》的嘉宾专栏中为该剧辩护。他们表示，剧中对欺凌、伤害、抑郁和自杀的忠实刻画能够帮助减轻如今越来越多的年轻人在成长过程中所经历的耻辱感。
Their goal was to "shed light" on these issues, they wrote; For "every script," then, the series' writers and producers worked with psychiatrists, teachers and other experts to "ensure that even the most challenging scenes were grounded in reality."
他们在专栏中写道，他们的目标是“阐明”问题；对于“每一个剧本”，编剧和制片人与精神病学家、教师和其他专家合作，“确保即使是最难表现的场景也忠于现实”。
"Numerous independent pieces of research" support the positive impact of the show, including one study citing evidence that admitted bullies changed their behavior after viewing the series, they added. "We've heard from people all around the world that the series gave them the courage to talk about issues they'd struggled to discuss before, including with their own families," wrote Yorkey and Hedrick.
他们补充说，“大量的独立研究”确保了这部电视剧能够产生积极的影响，其中一项研究引用的证据表明，欺凌者在看过这部电视剧后改善了自己的行为。Yorkey和Hedrick写道:“世界各地的人告诉我们，这部电视剧给了他们勇气，让他们得以谈论以前难以启齿的话题，甚至可以与自己的家人交流这一话题。”
Positive contagion is also possible
积极行为也可能传染
One cannot draw definitive "causal" conclusions, still Niederkrotenthaler's new study contains "compelling evidence" that "excess suicides may indeed have been owing to the series," wrote Tyler J. VanderWeele, a Harvard biostatician, and two co-authors, in an editorial published alongside the study in JAMA Psychiatry. "This seems to have been an example in which contagion or imitation of suicide may have been at play."
尽管人们尚不能确定这两者间有明确的因果关系，Niederkrotenthaler的新研究还是给出了“令人信服的证据”，表明“自杀率激增可能确实是由这一电视剧集造成。” 哈佛大学生物统计学家Tyler J. VanderWeele在《美国医学会精神病学》上发表的一篇评论中写道，“这看起来是一个自杀传染，或是说模仿自杀的例子。”
Yet, contagion effects are not universally harmful. Potential "complex trade-offs" came into play following "13 Reasons Why," wrote VanderWeele and his co-authors. This includes the declines in bullying seen in the study cited by the series creator. And, though evidence suggests that seeing or suffering violence begets more violence, "experiencing a positive event renders one more likely to subsequently act altruistically," the editorial stated. Greater effort, then, could be made "to balance negative reports with those on what is good in a community" suggest the authors.
然而，传染效应并非完全有害。VanderWeele和他的合著者写道，《13个原因》带来的影响可能是复杂的。积极影响包括该剧作者引用的研究中所提到的欺凌行为的减少。而且，有证据表明，尽管目睹或遭受暴力会引发暴力行为，但“经历积极的事件会让一个人更有可能随后做出友善行为”。因此，作者们建议，媒体应更努力地“平衡负面报道与正面报道的比重”。
"A small change in reporting practices could have substantial benefits. Likewise, media portrayal of resilience, rather than suicide, may help those struggling," they wrote.
Evidence suggests "the content of media has become increasingly negative and polarizing," wrote the editorial authors. "Since the human brain is more attentive to potentially dangerous events, media sources with more negative material have more viewers, which incentivizes negative reporting."
“媒体在报道该类事件时做出的小改变可能将带来巨大的收益。同样，媒体若将报道重点放到坚韧意志，而非自杀本身，可能会帮助那些有困难的人，”他们写道。
评论作者写道，有证据表明“媒体的报道正变得越来越消极、极端化”。“由于人类大脑更关注潜在的危险事件，拥有更多负面材料的媒体拥有更多的观众，这就鼓励了负面报道。”
Ultimately, "strict censoring" or "restrictions on freedom of speech" are not needed; instead the editorial advocates for media producers to become aware of the harmful effects of irresponsible portrayals of suicide.
最理想的情况是，媒体不需要被“严格审查”以及限制“言论自由”，社论提倡媒体制作人能够自我审查，意识到不负责任的自杀描述所带来的有害影响。
Niederkrotenthaler told CNN that he hopes his findings will "encourage collaborations between the entertainment industry and suicide prevention."
Niederkrotenthaler告诉CNN，他希望他的发现能够“鼓励娱乐产业和自杀预防组织之间的合作。”
The problem with the series was it portrayed suicide as a logical consequence of typical life problems during the teen years, while getting help "was portrayed as being futile," he said. "Even if there are negative experiences with help-seeking in the past, it is always worth to give it another chance. It is always the right thing to look for help and speak with trusted adults."
这部电视剧的问题在于，它把自杀描述为青少年在遇到典型生活问题之后的一个合乎逻辑的后果，而将寻求帮助“描述成是徒劳无益的，”他说。“即使人们曾在寻求帮助时有过不悦经历，也总是值得再试一次。寻求帮助并与值得信赖的成年人交谈总是正确的处理方法。”
指导老师｜刘佳
编译｜尹天翼 刘与晨
排版丨刘与晨
新闻来源｜CNN
