And these
suicide clusters occur almost exclusively among teens and young adults.
Gould was the lead investigator in a national study that examined the role of newspaper coverage of suicide as a contributor to
suicide clusters among 13- to 20-year-olds.
Editorial Note: Although
suicide clusters have been studied previously (1,2), understanding of the epidemiology of
suicide clusters and attempts, and potential risk factors, is limited.
CDC recommendations for a community plan for the prevention and containment of
suicide clusters. MMWR 1988;37(Suppl 6).
'CDC Recommendations for a Community Plan for the Prevention and Containment of
Suicide Clusters.' Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 37:1-12.
'Mainstreaming' also potentially neglects unique aspects of Aboriginal suicidal behaviour that need to be addressed, including the lower age of Indigenous suicides, the frequency of
suicide clusters, the association with complex patterns of community grief, the overwhelming predominance of alcohol, and the use of hanging (Tatz 1999).
The result is "copy cat" suicides or "
suicide clusters." The modern combination of suicide promotion and the ease of access afforded by the Internet has brought the insidious notion of "rational suicide" to many who are easily caught in its simplistic view of life and death.
Lynch, a US psychologist, believes anorexia "epidemics" operate in the same manner as
suicide clusters, where one example of extreme behaviour spurs others to mimic it.
