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Two new studies were published today on the links between television converage of suicide
人們展開了針對于電視自殺性報道與
and subsequent teenage suicide rates.
隨后青少年自殺發生概率關系的兩項新研究，它們已于今日發布。
The New England Journal of Medicine reports that both studies suggest that some teenagers might be more likely to take their own lives
《新英格蘭醫學雜志》報告說，這兩項研究都表明有些青少年在
after seeing TV programs dealing with suicide.
看了自殺性電視節目后，更可能自殺。
NPR's Lorie Garrett reports.
NPR洛里·加勒特報道。
The first suicide study, done by a team from the Unitversity of California in San Diego,
第一項自殺研究，由加利福尼亞圣地亞哥大學一個團隊完成，
examines television news coverage of suicides.
他們檢查了自殺性事件的電視新聞報道。
David Philips and Lundy Careseon looked at forty-five suicide stories carried on network news-casts between 1973 and '79.
大衛·菲利普斯和倫迪· 凱爾森查看了1973年至1979年間45個自殺性事件的網絡新聞報道。
The researchers then compared the incidence of teen suicides in those years to the dates of broadcast of these stories.
研究人員隨后對那些年發生的青少年自殺事件與新聞報道做了對比。
David Philips says news coverage of suicides definitely prompted and increase in the number of teens in America who took their lives.
大衛·菲利普斯說，關于自殺事件的新聞報道肯定助長了美國青少年的自殺發生概率，增加了自殺發生人數。
"The more TV programs that carry a story, the greater they increase in teen suicides just afterwards."
“電視播得越多，隨后的青少年自殺事件發生得越多。”
The suicide increase among teens was compared by Philips to adult suicide trends.
菲利普斯還對青少年自殺趨勢與成年自殺趨勢進行了比較。
"The teen suicides go up by about 2.91 teen suicides per story.
（平均）每次事件報道造成青少年自殺率增加2.91人次，
And adult suicides go up by, I think, around two adult suicides per story.
而（平均）每次事件報道造成成年自殺率增加2人次，
The increase for teens, the percentage increase for teens is very, very much larger
青少年自殺率的增加遠
than the percentage increase for adults.
比成人自殺率的增加要大得多。
It's about, I think, fourteen or fifteen times as big a response for teens percentagewise as it is for adults."
我認為，按百分比計算，青少年自殺率的增加是成人的十四五倍。”
The TV news coverage appears to have prompted a greater increase than is seen around other well-known periods of adolescent depression,
比起其它眾所周知的青春期抑郁時期，新聞報道似乎，更會造成青少年自殺率的增加，
such as holidays, personal birthdays, the start of school and winter.
如假期、個人生日、開學季及冬季時段。
Philips could not find any specific types of stories that seem to trigger a greater response among depressed teens.
菲利普斯似乎再找不到任何比電視新聞報道，更能激發抑郁青少年自殺的事情了。
Philips says it seems to simply be the word "suicide"
菲利普斯說，似乎正是“自殺”這個詞，
and the knowledge that somebody actively executed the act that pushes buttons in depressed teenagers.
以及知道有人真的做了，讓這些抑郁的青少年，啟動了自殺的按鈕。
Psychiatrists call this "imitative behavior."
精神病學家稱之為“模仿行為”。
"What my study showed was that there seems to be imitation not only of relatively bland behavior like dress,
“我的研究表明，模仿似乎不僅限于那些稀松平常的事情，比如像衣服，
dressing or hairstyles, but there seems to be imitation of really quite deviant behavior as well.
著裝或發型，人們也會對一些相當離經叛道的行為加以模仿。
The teenagers imitate apparently across the board, not just suicides, but everything else as well."
這些青少年顯然是在全面模仿，不僅僅是自殺，還有其他一切。”
In a separate study, Madeline Gould and David Shaeffer of Columbia University
在另一項研究中，瑪德琳·古爾德和哥倫比亞大學的戴維·謝弗發現，
found that made-for-television movies about suicide also stimulated imitative behavior.
影視作品中的自殺情節也會刺激自殺模仿行為的發生。
Even though the movies were intended to portray the problem of teen suicide and offered, in some cases,
盡管電影旨在描述青少年自殺問題并提供，在某些情況下，
suicide hot line numbers and advice on counselling,
自殺（救助）熱線及咨詢意見，
the team believes the four network movies prompted eighty teen suicides.
該研究團隊仍認為這四部網絡電影促使80名青少年最終選擇了自殺。
One of the made-for-TV movies examined by the Columbia University team was a CBS production.
哥倫比亞大學研究團隊對其中一部電影進行了檢查，該電影由CBS生產。
George Schweitzer, a CBS's Vice President, is well aware of this research.
CBS副總喬治·斯維澤對此項研究非常了解。
He says, "It is terribly unfortunate that any teens took their lives after the broadcast,
他說，“有青少年在收聽了自殺性報道后選擇了自殺，真的極為不幸，
but if they had it to do over,"says Schweitzer, "CBS would still run the movie."
但如果他們可以重新選擇一次，”斯維澤說，“CBS仍會播放這部影片。”
"Studies like these do not measure the most, what we think is the most important thing,
像這樣的研究并不是最重要的，我們認為最重要的是，
which I don't think can be measured, and that is the hundreds and hundreds and probably thousands of teenagers
我認為這是難以估量的，成百上千，可能是數以千計的
who were positively moved by these kinds of broadcasts."
青少年被這類報道驅使。
Moved to call suicide hot lines, moved to seek counseling,
他們會撥打自殺（救助）熱線，趕緊去找心理咨詢，
and moved to discuss their depressions with family members.
和家人一起討論他們沮喪的狀態。
Schweitzer does not dispute today's studies: some teens may be moved to suicide.
斯維澤并不反對今天的研究：一些青少年可能會被驅使去自殺。
"But ignoring the issue for fear of that,
“但因為這一點而忽視這個問題，
I think,would be far more disastrous than addressing important social issues to help create awareness and again to have a positive effect."
會比解決重要的社會問題來提高人們的意識，并再次產生積極影響更加具有災難性后果。
But researcher David Philips suggests the media could decrease the teen suicide problem
但是研究員大衛·菲利普斯建議，媒體可以通過避免自殺性事件的同時報道，
by avoiding some suicide stories all together and changing the way the others are covered.
以及改變報道其他內容的方式，來減少青少年的自殺問題。
For examply, says Philips, "Don't make suicide seem heroic."
比如，菲利普斯說，“不要讓自殺看起來是種英雄行為。”
He cites the story of a young Czechoslovakian dissident who set himslef on fire.
他引用了年輕的捷克斯洛伐克持不同政見者的故事，他自焚了。
But the dissident action was taken to draw attention to government repression in Czecholovakia.
但持不同政見者這樣做是為了促使人們關注捷克斯洛伐克政府的鎮壓。
Should the news media really have ignored such a story?
新聞媒體真的應該把這樣一個故事忽略掉嗎？
"I think it's a really difficult question. There are all these goods on all sides of the issue.
“我認為這是一個非常難的問題。問題的各個方面都有好處。
And thank God, I don't have to be the one to disentangle that issue."
感謝上帝，我不是那個必須要解決這個問題的人。”
One prominent expert in this field said the young people moved to take their lives,
這一領域的一位著名專家說，年輕人開始采取自殺行動，
following a news story or movie, are particularly vulnerable, suicidal individuals.
在新聞故事或電影播出后，特別容易受到傷害的就是自殺者。
In the absence of television stories, some other events in their lives might well have triggered their actions.
如果沒有電視報道，他們生活中的一些其他事件，很可能已經觸發了他們的自殺行為。
So while most psychiatrists agree there is an imitative coponent to teenage suicides,
雖然大多數醫生同意青少年自殺會有效仿因素，
that tendency, they say, should not lead society to repress information.
他們說，這種趨勢不應該迫使社會去壓制信息的曝光。
On the contrary, some say we are now facing a major epidemic of adolescent suicide in America.
相反的，有些人說我們現在面對的是美國青少年自殺大爆發。
We must publicize and confront the problem.
我們必須（進行正向）宣傳，并正視這個問題。
Last year some fifty-five hundred adolescents between fifteen and twenty-four yeras of age took their lives.
去年有5500名年齡在15到24歲之間的青少年選擇了結束他們的生命。
At least ten times that tried.
試圖自殺的人至少是其十倍。
Some estimates are that 275 thousand teens attempted suicide last year.
據估計，去年有275,000名青少年企圖自殺。
The rate of teenage suicide in America has tripled since 1955.
自1955年以來，美國青少年自殺率增加了兩倍。
