"Methodological considerations in determining the effects of films with suicidal content": Authors' reply

Résumé

Reply by the current author to the comments made by Shailesh Jha and Rajesh Kumar (see record 2015) on the article Determining the Effects of Films With Suicidal Content: A Laboratory Experiment (2015). As the commentators pointed out, the Erlanger Depression Scale consists of 9 items, but only 8 of these items are used to calculate the score for depression, and the first item of the scale is a 'warm-up' item used for introduction to the scale. Regarding the screening process, ethical considerations and the safety of participants are of course a main priority. The outcome of the suicidal crisis portrayed in the films might have determined the impact of the movies on the audiences, and this was discussed in the paper. Further studies are necessary to determine the effect of movies that do not differ with regard to characteristics other than the crisis outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)