NCJ Number
122038
Journal
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Volume: 37 Issue: S-6 Dated: (August 1988) Pages: 1-12
Date Published
1989
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report contains recommendations to assist community leaders in public health, mental health, education, and other fields to develop a community response plan for suicide clusters or for situations that might develop into suicide clusters.
Abstract
A suicide cluster is a group of suicides or suicide attempts, or both, that occur closer together in time and space than would normally be expected in any given community. Clusters of completed suicides occur predominantly among adolescents and young adults, and these clusters account for approximately 1 to 5 percent of all suicides of that age group. Suicide clusters are thought to contain a process of contagion with the later suicides being influenced by the suicides occurring earlier in the cluster. Additionally, when the general public is exposed to suicide through the media, it may increase the risk of suicide for susceptible individuals. Cluster suicides can create a crisis situation within a community when they occur as leaders are faced with the tasks of preventing the cluster from expanding while managing the crisis which has already occurred. When a suicide cluster is occurring in a community or seems about to occur, several steps should be taken immediately. The plan proposed in this booklet should be implemented as a community endeavor, involving all concerned sectors of the community. 17 references.