本研究旨在描述自殺新聞內容型態分佈狀況；瞭解報紙自殺新聞對自殺人數（率）的影響；驗證非線性模式－社會現象中失業率（失業平均期）與離婚率（離婚平均期）對自殺率的效應，以及在可能引起高度自殺的情境中（中高失業率、中高離婚率）與自殺事件報導交互作用，對自殺率的效應又如何？ 本研究擬從『自殺模仿』、『自殺傳染』、『自殺複製』、『自殺瀰』、『自殺文化基因』、『自殺暴露效應』、『自殺暗示』、『自殺集體或流行』等與『維特效應』相關現象，來探討自殺的危險因子。以文化基因學、傳染論、社會學習觀、涂爾幹學說與其他社會科學中『模仿』、『複製』與『傳染』的觀點說明維特效應，並採取整合性理論模式作解釋，從事1988-1999年的本土性實證研究，對台灣主要中文報紙65則頭版自殺新聞內容進行分析，並兼用發現實驗法和時間序列迴歸分析技巧，以自殺人數和自殺率為依變項進行統計。另測試不同類型自殺新聞內容對自殺的影響，並比較非線性模式與線性模式，純自殺事件新聞模式與自殺事件新聞模式間的差異性。 研究發現如下：（a）頭版自殺新聞內容具特殊性，以男性台閩名人自殺事件報導為主；（b）自殺新聞質與量對總體或女性自殺人數（率）均有影響，且自殺事件報導對自殺率的效應，不受失業、離婚強化影響；亦即自殺事件報導與失業、離婚無交互作用；（c）綜合方法學驗證結果均綜合性支持維特效應。研究發現含意：（a）反映病態社會模式與個體心理構造的改變；（b）當省思媒體傳播的角色與媒體教育、生死教育的重要性。最後，本研究貢獻依大小順序如下：（a）提出新觀念，（b）提供多元方法驗證與比較，（c）提供新方案，（d）擴充研究範圍，（e）提供新發現，（f）提供理論奠定與整合。 The study portrays the suicide news stories and identifies the effect of suicide news stories on suicide total and suicide rate. The suicidogenic structural conditions, such as high unemployment rate and high divorce rate were taken into account to decide the interaction effect. Further, the additive model and nonadditive model were compared. The study attempts to look at the effect of a media story on suicide, that is, the “Werther effect”, based on memetic theory, contagion theory, social learning theory, and Durkhiem theory. Total 65 news stories on the front pages in the Chinese newspapers were collected and analyzed. The techniques of the found experiment and time series regression analysis were employed to determine the effect of suicide stories on suicide. The impacts of stories of various topics were also explored. It was found that most suicide coverage in the front page regards Taiwanese male celebrity. The suicide stories increase total suicide rate and the female suicide rate regardless of the rate of unemployment and divorce. The implications of the findings are as follow: (a) Reflecting pathological social model and change of the individual psychological construct; (b) Introspecting the role of media transmission and the important of media education with life and death education. Lastly, the study contribution follows size order as: (a) raise new idea; (b) Provide poly-method test and coparison; (c) Provide new plan; (d) Expend study range; (e) Provide new finding; (f) Provide theory establishment and integration.
