Suicide Clusters and Media Coverage of Suicide (IN: Suicide – an Unnecessary Death, edited by D Wasserman)

Cluster suicides or suicide attempts may arise, by means of a suggestive effect, among people in the immediate vicinity of the person who completed or attempted suicide. Cluster suicides & suicide attempts are particularly prevalent among adolescents age 15-19. This chapter discusses the underlying mechanisms of suicide clusters, World Health Organization guidelines on the media coverage of suicide, & the prevention of cluster suicidal acts in a psychiatric ward. (15 refs.)