Today, new research has been released that examines attitudes towards the professional communication about suicide held by public relations and communication professionals in Australia. this report forms part of a PhD and was supported by staff at the Hunter Institute of Mental Health working on the Mindframe National Media Initiative and the Public Relations Institute of Australia. For more information about the research visit www.mindframe-media.info

1. Views and attitudes regarding
communication about suicide held by
public relations and communication
professionals in Australia
Report prepared by Jaelea Skehan, Ross Tyan and Renate Thienel for the
Hunter Institute of Mental Health, the Mindframe National Media Initiative and
the Public Relations Institute of Australia.

2. About the research
• Within the suicide literature, there has been extensive research
investigating the relationship between news reporting and suicide. This
research has been used to develop evidence-based recommendations
regarding how to safely report on suicide.
• There has been very little research, however, looking at the views and
attitudes of media, public relations and communication professionals.
• This research aimed to gather information about public relations and
communication professionals’ attitudes towards the reporting and
broader communication about suicide; their level of exposure to
suicide; and their attitude towards suicide in general.
• This research is complemented by two further studies to assess the
knowledge and attitudes of media professionals and students studying
journalism or public relations.

3. About the research
• This research forms part of a PhD study through the University of
Newcastle and was supported by a team of staff from the Hunter
Institute of Mental Health, who manage the Mindframe National Media
Initiative.
• The research has been approved by the University of Newcastle’s
Human Research Ethics Committee, Approval No H-2014-0369.
• This is a summary report of results, which have not yet been peer-
reviewed. It has been developed for broader communication through
the Mindframe National Media Initiative and the Public Relations
Institute of Australia.
• Further analysis will be included as part of a peer-reviewed publication.

4. Acknowledgements
• This research forms part of Jaelea Skehan’s PhD study supervised by
Professor Brian Kelly (University of Newcastle), Professor Jane Pirkis
(University of Melbourne) and Associate Professor Myfanwy Maple
(University of New England).
• The research was supported by a team of staff from the Hunter
Institute of Mental Health, including Dr Ross Tynan, Dr Renate Thienel
and Mr Marc Bryant.
• The Public Relations Institute of Australia and the project team working
on the Mindframe National Media Initiative supported recruitment for
this study.

5. The Australian context
• In Australia, evidence-based guidelines for media reporting of suicide have
been developed and disseminated by the Hunter Institute of Mental
Health under the Mindframe National Media Initiative (Mindframe).
• Mindframe is a comprehensive and multi-faceted strategy that targets
media organisations and media professionals as well as the mental health
and suicide prevention sectors, police, courts, film and television, and
universities offering programs in journalism, communication and public
relations. It also offers a StigmaWatch program delivered by SANE
Australia.
• While the Mindframe strategy has developed resources for universities
offering public relations programs and has engaged with professional
communicators within targeted sectors, the program has not actively
engaged with public relations practitioners as a profession more broadly.

6. Research methodology
• People were eligible to participate in the research if they were: (a) over
the age of 18 years; and (b) were currently (or in the past 2 years)
employed as a public relations or communication professional in
Australia.
• The survey was promoted by the Public Relations Institute of Australia
and the Hunter Institute of Mental Health, using email, media release,
social media posts and other online discussion forums.
• Participation was voluntary and all surveys were completed online. At
the end of the survey, participants were provided with an option to go
into a draw (with contact details entered separately to the survey) to
win one of ten $50 vouchers.

7. Research methodology
The survey instrument included five sections:
1. Participant demographics, including age, gender, current role,
educational background;
2. A 20-item rating scale assessing participants’ level of agreement
with statements about professional communication that involves
suicide;
3. The 16-item Stigma of Suicide Scale (SOSS);
4. Questions relating to participants’ personal and professional
exposure to suicide;
5. Questions about participants’ prior exposure to the Mindframe
program and resources.

8. 1. Participant demographics
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
29.5%
4.7% 2.8% 4.7% 3.4%
55.2%
Are you a member of the Public Relations Institute of
Australia?
Figure 1. Participants (%) who are a current member of PRIA.
A total of 290 participants met
the eligibility criteria and
completed the survey.
Almost half (45%) of the sample
indicated they were a member
of the Public Relations Institute
of Australia (PRIA), see Figure 1.

9. 1. Participant demographics
Gender: 229 people identified
as female (79%), 58 identified as
male (20%) and 3 people (1%)
did not complete the open field.
Figure 2. Age of participants (%)
25 years or younger
26 - 35 years
36 - 45 years
46 - 55 years
56 - 64 years
65 years or older
Culture: Only 1% (n=3) of participants
identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander.
Age: Most participants (81.9%) were aged
between 26 and 55 years – see Figure 2.
20%
79%

10. Just under half of the
participants (44%) had
studied public relations at an
Australian university.
Participants currently
worked across government
(31%), non-government or
not-for-profit (20%),
business (15%), university
(4%) or worked for an agency
or as a consultant (30%) –
see Figure 3.
Government Organisation
NGO or Not for profit
Business
University
Agency/Consultancy
Figure 3. Participant organisation (%), n = 124.
1. Participant demographics

11. More than half of the
participants were working
in either NSW (28.1%) or
Victoria (26.2%) – see
Figure 4.
Most participants were
working in a capital city
(86.6%), with only 13.4%
working in a regional or
rural area.
Figure 4. Participants (%) by state.
11.8%
28.0%
2.6%
9.2%
2.6%
26.2%
8.5%
11.1%
1. Participant demographics

12. On average, participants had around 15 years of experience
(mean = 14.69 years), with a range between less than one year to 42 years
– see Figure 5.
Figure 5. Years of experience (%).
Only one quarter of
participants (23%)
reported having done
some suicide prevention
training in the past, with
Mindframe, Lifeline and
Mental Health First Aid the
most common type of
training. 0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
<5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20+
13.2%
22.1%
16.2%
14.7%
33.8%
1. Participant demographics

13. Yes, daily
Yes, at least weekly
Yes, at least monthly
No, rarely or never
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0%
25.7%
25.0%
27.2%
22.1%
Does your role involve working with the
media?
Yes, daily
Yes, at least weekly
Yes, at least monthly
No, rarely or never
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0%
36.0%
31.6%
22.4%
9.9%
Does your role involve developing digital
content?
Almost 80% of participants worked with the media (at least monthly) as part of
their role (see Figure 6). 90% indicated that their role involved frequent
development of digital content, with over two-thirds reporting they did this at
least weekly (see Figure 7).
Figure 6. Frequency of work with the media (%). Figure 7. Frequency of developing digital content (%).
1. Participant demographics

14. 2. Communication about suicide
Public relations and communication professionals were asked rate their level
of agreement with a range of statements about reporting and communicating
about suicide, using a 7-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly
agree.
• Table 1 provides a summary of responses to 15 statements that relate to
current evidence-informed recommendations provided through the
Mindframe Initiative in Australia, and the expected direction of responses
based on the current recommendations, indicated by a coloured box.
• Table 2 provides a summary of responses to five more general statements
about the frequency and value of reports and professional communication
about suicide.
• To simplify the reporting of results, the strongly agree and agree as well as
the strongly disagree and disagree categories were combined, with results
in Table 1 and Table 2 presented on a 5-point scale.

15. 2. Communication about suicide:
Alignment with principles high (>70%)
Strongly
Disagree or
Disagree*
Somewhat
Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly
agree or
agree*
Public relations and communication
professionals should ensure information
about suicide (including suicide statistics) is
accurate and confirmed. (n=261)
0% 0% 0.8% 0%
Public relations and communication
professionals should involve suicide
prevention experts or services in any
communication or campaign about suicide.
(n=261)
1.2% 0.8% 2.7% 8.0%
Table 1: Level of agreement with statements about communication and reporting about suicide,
with high (>70%), moderate (>50%) or low (<50%) alignment to Mindframe recommendations.
99.2%
87.3%

16. Strongly
Disagree or
Disagree*
Somewhat
Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly
agree or
agree*
There are no specific cultural considerations
to apply when communicating about suicide.
(n=260)
10.0% 6.2% 1.9% 4.2%
Adding help-seeking information to
communication involving suicide is not
helpful. (n=261)
7.3% 3.1% 1.9% 2.3%
It is important to issue public communication
about a suspected suicide quickly, stating it
is a suicide or suspected suicide even if the
cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
(n=265)
13.6% 5.3% 7.5% 1.5%
2. Communication about suicide:
Alignment with principles high (>70%)
77.7%
85.4%
72.0%

17. 2. Communication about suicide:
Alignment with principles moderate (>50%)
Strongly
Disagree or
Disagree*
Somewhat
Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly
agree or
agree*
Public communication that involves people
who have been suicidal in the past can be
helpful. (n=263)
2.6% 1.2% 11.0% 25.9%
The best time to interview/communicate
professionally to people bereaved by suicide
is soon after the death. (n=268)
15.7% 16.0% 6.7% 5.6%
It is important to include the location of a
suicide death in public communication,
especially if it occurs in a well-known
location. (n=260)
15.8% 13.1% 5.4% 3.8%
If a celebrity dies by suicide, then it is
important to communicate about the death
in detail. (n=269)
15.6% 9.3% 14.5% 5.5%
59.3%
56.0%
61.9%
55.0%

18. 2. Communication about suicide:
Alignment with principles moderate (>50%)
Strongly
Disagree or
Disagree*
Somewhat
Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly
agree or
agree*
Professional communication, including
media reports, about suicide should not
mention specific details about the method of
suicide. (n=273)
4.0% 12.5% 6.6% 18.3%
People working in public relations and
communication can be adversely impacted
when reporting on suicide. (n=260)
3.1% 2.3% 14.6% 23.1%
When developing digital content that
involved suicide, public relations and
communication professionals should follow
similar guidelines to those used by the
media. (n=269)
8.2% 4.5% 8.6% 18.6%
58.6%
56.9%
60.2%

19. 2. Communication about suicide
Alignment with principles low (<50%)
Strongly
Disagree or
Disagree*
Somewhat
Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly
agree or
agree*
Suicide deaths should always be reported by
the media. (n=273)
19.4% 17.2% 17.6% 11.3%
Reporting on individual deaths by suicide
can increase the risk of suicide in other
members of the community. (n=265)
18.1% 12.4% 20.8% 21.1%
When communicating about an issue that
involves suicide, it is appropriate to use the
word “committed suicide”. (n=261)
11.1% 31.4% 12.3% 14.2%
*Strongly disagree/disagree and strongly agree/agree options have been combined in this report.
34.5%
27.6%
31.0%

20. 2. Communication about suicide
Strongly
Disagree or
Disagree*
Somewhat
Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly
agree or
agree*
Public relations and communication
professionals have an important role to play
in suicide prevention. (n=263)
2.3% 3.4% 8.8% 29.3% 56.2%
Reporting on individual deaths by suicide
will help to reduce suicide. (n=262) 29.0% 19.5% 26.7% 17.6% 7.2%
Reporting on the broader issue of suicide
will help to reduce suicide. (n=262)
1.1% 2.7% 9.2% 25.9% 61.1%
Having a regular ‘suicide toll’ in the media
would help reduce suicide. (n=260)
50.4% 11.6% 20.4% 11.5% 6.1%
Media should report suicide more often
than they currently do. (n=268)
19.0% 8.2% 21.6% 26.9% 24.3%
* Strongly disagree/disagree and strongly agree/agree options have been combined in this report.
Table 2: Level of agreement with general statements about communication and reporting about
suicide.

21. 2. Communication about suicide
More than half of the respondents had never communicated on an issue
involving suicide (54.8%), and a further quarter only communicated once or
twice a year (27.8%). Of those who answered ‘other’, almost half indicated that
they communicated only once in their career or infrequently. When asked how
often they heard about suicide as part of their job, people were most likely to
indicate this happened at least yearly (44.8%).
daily weekly monthly yearly never other
During your career, how often have you had to communicate about an issue involving suicide?
0.4% 1.2% 5.4% 27.8% 54.8% 15.4%
During your career, how often would you hear about a suicide attempt or suicide death as part of your job?
1.9% 4.2% 12.7% 44.8% 24.3% 12%
Table 3: Frequency (%) of exposure to suicide to suicide as a professional communicator.

22. 2. Communication about suicide
Applying guidelines
When asked to think about their
own professional communication
about suicide, almost half of the
respondents indicated that they
applied guidelines for reporting
suicide most or all of the time.
Around a quarter were unaware
of guidelines, while only few
reported using guidelines rarely
or not at all.
All of the time
Most of the time
Some of the
time
Never
I am unaware of
any guidelines
Other
Figure 8. Application of guidelines for reporting suicide in their practice (%).

23. 3. Stigma of Suicide
Stigma was measured using the 16-item Stigma Of Suicide Scale (SOSS).
The SOSS scale measures three underlying constructs: Stigma (8 items);
Depression/Isolation (4 Items); Glorification/Normalisation (4 items).
Participants were asked to rate how much they agreed with a series of 16
single-worded items describing someone who takes their own life (suicide).
Agreement was measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from ‘Strongly
disagree’ to ‘Strongly agree’. Mean agreement scores for each construct are
shown on Table 4.
• For the Stigma construct, higher scores indicate higher levels of stigma.
• On the Depression/Isolation scale, higher scores indicate respondents are
more likely to attribute suicide to depression/isolation.
• On the Glorification/Normalisation scale, higher scores indicate that
respondents are more likely to glorify or normalise suicide.

24. Stigma
Isolation/
Depression
Glorification/
Normalisation
Public relations and communication professionals (this
research - unpublished)
1.58 3.67 1.98
Media professionals (unpublished research) 1.61 3.54 1.91
Australian community* (published research) 2.19 4.11 2.45
Medical students* (published research) 2.06 3.50 1.85
Table 4: Mean Stigma of Suicide construct scores and comparative research.
In general, public relations and communication professionals had comparatively low
scores on the stigma and glorification constructs, and higher scores on the depression
construct. Based on responses from other published (and unpublished) research, public
relations professionals appear to have lower levels of stigma, however caution should be
exercised when comparing different research samples.
3. Stigma of Suicide

25. 4. Exposure to suicide (personal)
Over three-quarters of participants who provided a response to this question
(n=197) reported that they had known someone who died by suicide. Almost
45% (n=88) of these also indicated that they were ‘close’ to at least one person
who died by suicide (with a mean of 2.3 people).
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
YES
NO
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
YES
NO
Figure 10. Have you been close to someone who died by suicide (%)?Figure 9. Do you know anyone who died by suicide (%)?
Mean = 2.3
(Range: 1-12)

26. 4. Exposure to suicide (personal)
When asked how long ago the death occurred, participants were most likely to
report it occurred over 10 years ago (42%). When asked to think about the death
that had the most impact on their life, most respondents reported that the
person was a friend (56.5%) or family member (34.9%).
Family breakdown (n=32):
Extended family (53%);
Sibling (22%); Partner (16%);
Parent (6%); Child (3%).
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
11.40%
21.60%
25%
42%
Over 10 years
5-10 years
1-5 years
less than 1 year
Figure 11. Relationship to the person (%).
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
56.50%
34.9%
5.9%
Other
Family
Friend
Figure 12. Length of time since the death (%).

27. 4. Exposure to suicide (personal)
Friend
(n=48)
Family
(n=32)
Other (n=5) Total (n=86)
The death had little effect on my life. 0.0% 0% 0% 0%
The death had somewhat of an effect on me but
did not disrupt my life.
16.7% 18.8% 20.0% 19.3%
The death disrupted my life for a short time. 33.3% 6.3% 20.0% 21.6%
The death disrupted my life in a significant or
devastating way, but I no longer feel that way.
25.0% 18.8% 20.0% 21.6%
The death had a significant or devastating effect
on me that I still feel.
25.0% 56.3% 40.0% 37.5%
More than half of participants reported that the death had a significant effect
on them, with over a third (37.5%) reporting that they still feel those effects.
Table 5: Impact of exposure to suicide (personal), by relationship.

28. There was no significant relationship been the length of time since the death
and the reported impact that the suicide had on people.
Table 6: Impact of exposure to suicide (personal), by length of time.
<1 year
(n=10)
1-5 years
(n=19)
5-10 years
(n=22)
>10 years
(n=37)
The death had little effect on my life. 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
The death had somewhat of an effect on me but
did not disrupt my life.
10.0% 26.3% 9.1% 24.3%
The death disrupted my life for a short time. 20.0% 26.3% 31.8% 13.5%
The death disrupted my life in a significant or
devastating way, but I no longer feel that way.
40.0% 10.5% 22.7% 21.6%
The death had a significant or devastating effect
on me that I still feel.
30.0% 36.8% 36.4% 40.5%
4. Exposure to suicide (personal)

29. 4. Exposure to suicide (professional)
Almost half (48.4%) of respondents had interviewed or interacted with someone
bereaved or affected by suicide as part of their work. When asked about the person
impact of these interactions, more than half (57.7%) reported that it had somewhat
of an effect but did not disrupt their life, while a further quarter (25.2%) indicated
that the interactions disrupted their life for a short while.
Table 7: Impact of exposure to suicide (professional).
(n=123)
The interactions had little effect on my life. 7.3%
The interactions had somewhat of an effect on me but did not disrupt my life. 57.7%
The interactions disrupted my life for a short while. 25.2%
The interactions disrupted my life in a significant or devastating way, but I no longer feel
that way.
4.9%
The interactions had a significant or devastating effect on me that I still feel. 4.9%

30. 4. Exposure to suicide: workplace support
When asked to reflect on whether their workplace was aware of the impact that
communicating about suicide could have, and whether supports were available,
more than half indicated that their workplace was aware and there were supports
available. In just over one-quarter of cases people indicated that there were no
workplace supports available.
Table 8: Workplace awareness and support.
(n=246)
The workplace is not aware of the impact that communicating about suicide can have on staff
and there no support provided.
18.3%
The workplace is not aware of the impact that communicating about suicide can have on staff
but there is support provided.
13.8%
The workplace is aware of the impact that communicating about suicide can have on staff but
there is no support provided.
10.2%
The workplace is aware of the impact that communicating about suicide can have on staff and
there is support provided.
57.7%

31. 5. Exposure to Mindframe
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
YES
NO
Figure 13. Awareness of Mindframe (%)?
About one-third (32%) of the respondents were aware Mindframe. Of those who
were aware of the Initiative, the website (61.3%) was the resource referred to or
used the most.
Resources used or referred to* (n=80)
Resource book for media 33.8%
Other sector resource book 21.3%
University material for public relations
students
12.5%
Mindframe website 61.3%
Mindframe app 6.3%
Never used 28.8%
* Participants could select more than one option
Table 9: Use of Mindframe resources.

32. 5. Exposure to Mindframe
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0% 50.0%
Figure 14. How have you been exposed to Mindframe resources (%)? (all that apply)
On social media
In my workplace
Not exposed
Mindframe briefing or training
Mindframe email alerts
When asked to indicate how they became exposed to Mindframe, almost half
of the participants indicated they were exposed via social media, a third had
resources available in their workplace and about a quarter had received
Mindframe training and/or alerts.

33. 5. Comments provided about Mindframe
“More promotion of the resources”
“Greater availability of face-to-face briefing sessions”
“Practical and accessible”
“I don't work in a field that needs them”
“I have not been aware of them but believe any resources will be extremely beneficial”
“We had a seminar run by Mindframe and it was really terrific”
“Could be more follow up after certain stories to remind journalists”
“Provides guidance and reassurance when dealing with this sensitive issue”
“I support the sensitive reporting on suicide, just not so much how it's been done to date”
“For public relations and media today, they would be an excellent resource”
“Given my own personal experience of suicide, I am very cognisant of the related issues…”
“The issue doesn't come up in my current job. The resources are excellent”
“Given I don't have to develop communications around suicide I have not been exposed to Mindframe”
“It's a great initiative that is attempting to reframe the mindset of suicide in the media”
“I am constantly referring journalists to the Mindframe resources”
“Accessibility is great, knowing that they're evidence-based, consistent. But more thinking/research
about refining messages or message subsets would be useful”
“We must report on suicide - the details and specifics. Mindframe appears to be of the view that
[it] should not…”
“The Mindframe resources are very important…”

34. Support services
Services are available to anyone needing immediate support.

35. Contact Us:
Email:
mindframe@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au
himh@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au
Twitter:
@HInstMH
@MindframeMedia
Websites:
www.himh.org.au
www.mindframe-media.info