Abstract
Australian Aboriginal Suicide Deaths in Custody: Cultural Context and Cluster Evidence
Reser J P
The author studied the 9 reported deaths in custody in Queensland in 1986-87. Findings support a cluster interpretation of at least 8 of the deaths, which constitute 40% of the total number of Aboriginal suicide deaths in police custody in Queensland since 1980. Suggestion, imitation, & modeling seemed to be likely mediators of this cluster effect, but they occur in a distinctive cultural context & in response to a nested set of interdependent causal factors. (35 refs.)