Can media effects counteract legislation reforms? The case of adolescent firearm suicides in the wake of the Austrian firearm legislation.
To assess the impact of the Austrian firearm legislation (1997) on adolescent suicides, we investigated time trends in youth suicide prevalence (1986-2006) with Poisson regression. A temporary increase in firearm suicides after the reform was observed, followed by a continuous decrease. The hypothesis that media reporting triggered the short-term backlash effect is discussed.
Niederkrotenthaler
Thomas
T
Department of Medical Psychology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. thomas.niederkrotenthaler@meduniwien.ac.at
Till
Benedikt
B
Herberth
Arno
A
Kapusta
Nestor D
ND
Voracek
Martin
M
Dervic
Kanita
K
Etzersdorfer
Elmar
E
Sonneck
Gernot
G
D000293:Adolescent; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005389:Firearms / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult