What is the Werther effect a form of?
What is the Werther effect a form of? The Werther effect is the mimicry of suicide after a highly publicized suicide. More than 10,000 people in Germany take their own life every year – in the age group of those up to 34 years, suicidality is the most common cause of death following accidents. Why is it called the Werther effect? The term "Werther effect," named after the protagonist in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther," was coined to describe the phenomenon that humans tend to copy behavior - whether healthy or destructive. Copycat suicide is...