Several studies have noted the negative health effects of television viewing on children’s behavior(1). We present here the case of a child who attempted hanging probably influenced by television.

A 9-year-old boy was admitted to the pediatric intensive care ward at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health, Medical College, Calicut with history of attempted hanging. He quarreled with his elder sister who asked him to go and hang himself. Immediately he tied a knot around his neck using a saree and tried to hang himself from the roof. The knot was loose and he fell down after which he vomited and was not responding to commands for about half an hour. One of their relatives saw the incident and the child was brought to the hospital. At the time of admission the child was fully conscious. There were no external injuries and no neurological deficits.

The child belonged to a lower socio economic strata nuclear family from a rural back ground. Parents were both agricultural labourers with only primary level education. There was no family history of mental illness. His birth history and developmental milestones were normal.

Child psychiatry evaluation revealed a temperamentally impulsive and stubborn child with no features of depression or psychotic illness. His intelligence was normal and had average academic performance. He had no intention to die and he was not fully aware of the meaning of death. The attempted hanging was an impulsive act to show his anger against the sister.

There was no family history of suicide or attempted suicide. He did not witness hanging in the neighborhood also. He said he had seen a TV serial in which a person tried to hang himself after a quarrel.

It is unusual for a 9-year-old child to act like this without a model. Since there was no real life model it can be assumed that TV depiction of attempted hanging served as a model in this child. Fictional depiction of suicide in television films was found to serve as stimuli for imitative behavior(2) and studies have noted increased rates of suicide and suicide attempts using the same methods displayed in the TV shows(3-5).

The case is reported to highlight the importance of the influence of visual media on children’s behavior. The propriety of showing methods of deliberate self-harm in visual media is questionable. If it is necessary it should be done in such a way that imitation effect is minimized and help-seeking behavior is encouraged(3,5). It is recommended that journalists and media programmers should be educated in this regard.

Parents should be educated about the negative effects of TV on physical and mental health of children and ways to reduce the impact. They should be more selective and children watching TV alone should be discouraged(1). The Indian Academy of Pediatrics should take the lead in formulating and implementing the guidelines to help parents and children to develop healthy television viewing habits.

M.G. Geeta,
P. Krishnakumar,
Department of Pediatrics,
Institute of Maternal and Child Health
Medical College, Calicut,
North Kerala, India.
Correspondence to:
Dr. P. Krishnakumar,
Caribbean Cottage, Wynad Road,
Calicut 673 001, Kerala, India.
E-mail: [email protected]