Did ‘13 Reasons Why’ Really Worsen Adolescent Suicide Crisis?

When 13 Reasons Why premiere in 2017 at an online streaming site, many, including mental health experts, claimed that it is dangerous to the mental health of its teen viewers.

The criticism worsens after a study said that suicide among young boys surged the month after Netflix debuted it. This study is backed up by a reputable children's health institution, the Nationwide Children's Hospital.

However, upon analyzing the same data, the author of a new study published on Thursday came up with a different result: the show has no correlation at all.

A problematic study?

Daniel Romer, the author of the study, told CNN that the previous claim that the show caused the spike of suicide among boys ages between 10 and 17 might not be accurate at all. While there is really an increase, it began in March and went into April. The show premiered only on the last day of March 2017.

It is hard to say if there is really a connection, said Romer, who is the Research Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, for the girl counterpart, there is an increase, yet it is so small that it is barely statistically significant. Like on the boys, it is hard to determine if the show really caused this, Romer said.

Additionally, Romer said that the possible psychological impact of the show should've had a bigger impact on girls since the story revolves around a high school girl. However, he also noted that assuming his speculation was correct, the effect might be on more self-harming, which will necessarily not lead to self-inflicted deaths.

Is it actually beneficial?

Last year, Romer conducted a similar study, which aims to know if there are any beneficial responses among the viewers after watching the second season that debuted in May 2018. The result? Yes.

Compared to those who skipped the show, viewers claimed that they felt "less suicidal" and "more sympathetic on helping" people with emotional crises.

However, the study did not see any further benefits that could slow down the persistent increase of death by suicide among adolescents.

Romer said that the producers should still recognize the potential harm the show bring to vulnerable viewers.

28.9% increase in suicides

The 2019 Nationwide Children's Hospital study recorded the suicide rates among people ages 10 to 64 on a monthly and annual basis from 2013 to 2017. The data came from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After dividing the data into age groups, researchers found out that there is a 28.9% increase in suicide among 10 to 17-year old youth since the show debuted in April 2017.

Through his recent study, Romer criticized the hospital's data by claiming it did not consider the "secular trend" in 2017 that drove young men to kill themselves and instead just "attributed it to the show".

However, according to Jeff Bridge, the lead author of the 2019 study, Romer's claim is "categorically false".

He also added that they stand firmly on their first results and are looking forward to analyzing Romer's study.

"13 Reasons Why" was based on the 2007 young adult fiction with the same name written by Jay Asher. The story follows Hannah Baker, a high school girl who committed suicide. She left 13 audio recordings on cassette tapes, each one addressed to a person who has played a role in why she killed herself.

The TV series initially showed a graphic suicide scene but was then removed after it received criticisms from mental health experts. Instead, the producers have added a warning video to the start of each session.