Suicidal Behavior in Nepali motion pictures of three decades (1990-2020): A content analysis

Assessment of the depiction of suicidal behavior in motion pictures would reveal the social representation of suicide that would foster suicide prevention in a country.

We aimed to assess how suicidality has been depicted in Nepali movies by scrutinizing their contents against the sociodemographic checklist and WHO media guidelines for suicidal reporting.

This is a narrative quantitative analysis of suicidal behavior portrayals in the Nepali motion pictures that are publicly and freely accessible.

Overall, out of the 573 scrutinized movies, we found ten movies consisting of 11 characters (i.e., the prevalence is 1.75%) showing suicidal behavior. The majority of suicidal behavior was seen in males 6 (54.5%), and the majority of attempters were students 3 (27.3%) or homemakers 2 (18.2%). Suicidal behavior was mostly observed in unmarried people 6 (54.5%). Hanging was the most prevalent method (45.5%), and home (36.4%) and public places (36.4%) were equally the most frequent places of attempt. The consequential risk factors for the attempts were found to be marital problems/premarital affairs (50%), followed by unfulfilled demand/conflict (30%). While all 11 items depicted the method and place of the attempt, two also depicted the complete scene of the attempt. One item used language that normalized suicide as a constructive solution to the problem. None of the pictures publicized any mental health messages or educated the public about suicide prevention.

The minimal adherence of the Nepali motion pictures on the depictions of suicidality with WHO media guidelines indicates urgent need to create awareness among the Nepali film fraternity.