Holiday-Suicide Link Newspapers Continue to Perpetuate the Myth

Despite no basis in fact, newspapers continue to report on the increased risk of suicide around the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays. An analysis of newspaper reporting over the past seven years released today by the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that this story represents about half of all holiday-relevant suicide reporting. . . .
As noted in previous studies, the rate of suicide in the U.S. is lowest in December, and peaks in the spring and fall. Data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics show that this pattern has not changed through 2003, the most recent year for which national data are available.