After Robin Williams committed suicide, hundreds likely copied him, study suggests
There was a spike in the US suicide rate of almost 10 per cent after the actor’s death – and the increase was even higher among men and those who suffocated themselves like Williams
Suicide rates in the United States spiked almost 10 per cent following the death in 2014 of actor Robin Williams, and spiked even more among men and those who ended their lives, like Williams, by suffocation, according to a study published on Wednesday.
The study, published in the scientific journal PLOS One, found that in the five months from August to December 2104 some 18,690 deaths by suicide were recorded – an increase of 9.85 per cent from the expected number of cases for the period.
Williams, the Oscar-winning star of Good Morning, Vietnam who was beloved for his humour, died in August 2014 at age 63 in a suicide that shocked fans worldwide. Authorities said he died of asphyxia after hanging himself at his home in northern California. An autopsy found that Williams was suffering from Lew body dementia, which causes a progressive decline in mental ability.
Although the study could not prove a definitive link, it said there appeared to be a connection. Extensive media coverage of Williams’ death “might have proved the necessary stimulus for high-risk segments of the US population (e.g. middle-aged men in despair) to move from suicidal ideation to attempt.”
While the effects of widely reported celebrity suicides have previously been linked to increases in the wider population, the study said media coverage of Williams’ suicide was particularly detailed and sensational and was amplified through social media.