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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

Imitation Effects in Suicide and Mass School Attacks

Imitation effects in suicide and mass school shooting

The vast majority of rigorous studies demonstrate imitation effects in aggression, suicidal behavior, and suicide; prevention should therefore focus on monitoring advance announcements in the media and limiting extensive coverage.

The talk examines studies reporting imitation effects in aggression, suicidal behavior, and suicide. It notes that people who die by suicide are often in a mental state characterized by cognitive constriction, in which they believe they can no longer cope with their life circumstances and see suicide as the only solution. People who carry out amok attacks, meanwhile, are reported to have frequently experienced insults and humiliation (narcissistic injuries), sometimes in a cumulative sequence; Schmidtke (2009) calls these individuals "collectors of narcissistic injuries," and the act is viewed as a form of revenge. During the preparation for revenge, in the rumination and incubation period, perpetrators tend to gather information about previous amok attacks (similar to the acquisition phase in Bandura's theory of imitation) or purchase the same weapon or lethal means (a car); they may also anticipate the reward of being mentioned in the press, in institutions, or in political circles. Imitation effects occur at different times: in the short period following the event (8 to 10 days), around the funeral, when the trial begins, and on anniversaries of the event. Preventive strategies are therefore recommended to focus on examining advance announcements made across various platforms, particularly online, and avoiding extensive media coverage (detailed reporting on methods, weapons, rankings, previous perpetrators' characteristics, and attempts to understand the reasons for the act).

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