News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia
As a conduit of knowledge for the general public, news media inform the development and maintenance of attitudes and beliefs about a range of topics, including mental health and related behaviors. News media portrayals of such topics can, therefore, contribute to stigma—the culmination of harmful st...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2022
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93742 |
| _version_ | 1848765776797892608 |
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| author | Staniland, Lexy Hasking, Penelope Lewis, Stephen P. Boyes, Mark |
| author_facet | Staniland, Lexy Hasking, Penelope Lewis, Stephen P. Boyes, Mark |
| author_sort | Staniland, Lexy |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | As a conduit of knowledge for the general public, news media inform the development and maintenance of attitudes and beliefs about a range of topics, including mental health and related behaviors. News media portrayals of such topics can, therefore, contribute to stigma—the culmination of harmful stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. A topic of increasing media and research interest is self-harm, a behavior that is still poorly understood and highly stigmatized. Despite the potential for news media to be a source of self-harm stigma, few investigations of such portrayals have been conducted. To understand how news media portrays self-harm, a qualitative media framing analysis was conducted on 545 news articles published in Australia during 2019. Six frames were identified: Inevitably Suicidal, A Tragic Outcome, Mentally Unwell, An Epidemic, Threatening and Dangerous, and A Manipulative Tactic, each drawing on a broader narrative of pathology, instability, and damage. Use of problematic language and a lack of definitional clarity reinforced these frames. While the analyzed articles are limited to an Australian context, findings demonstrate continued misrepresentations of self-harm, which arguably contribute to ongoing self-harm stigma. Greater education and support for journalists reporting about self-harm is needed. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:40:38Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-93742 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:40:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-937422023-12-21T01:26:48Z News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia Staniland, Lexy Hasking, Penelope Lewis, Stephen P. Boyes, Mark As a conduit of knowledge for the general public, news media inform the development and maintenance of attitudes and beliefs about a range of topics, including mental health and related behaviors. News media portrayals of such topics can, therefore, contribute to stigma—the culmination of harmful stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. A topic of increasing media and research interest is self-harm, a behavior that is still poorly understood and highly stigmatized. Despite the potential for news media to be a source of self-harm stigma, few investigations of such portrayals have been conducted. To understand how news media portrays self-harm, a qualitative media framing analysis was conducted on 545 news articles published in Australia during 2019. Six frames were identified: Inevitably Suicidal, A Tragic Outcome, Mentally Unwell, An Epidemic, Threatening and Dangerous, and A Manipulative Tactic, each drawing on a broader narrative of pathology, instability, and damage. Use of problematic language and a lack of definitional clarity reinforced these frames. While the analyzed articles are limited to an Australian context, findings demonstrate continued misrepresentations of self-harm, which arguably contribute to ongoing self-harm stigma. Greater education and support for journalists reporting about self-harm is needed. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93742 10.1037/sah0000350 fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Staniland, Lexy Hasking, Penelope Lewis, Stephen P. Boyes, Mark News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia |
| title | News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia |
| title_full | News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia |
| title_fullStr | News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia |
| title_short | News Media Framing of Self-Harm in Australia |
| title_sort | news media framing of self-harm in australia |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93742 |