Year: 2009 Source: 64p. SIEC No: 20090921

This publication provides an examination of suicide clusters & the processes that contribute to their development & maintenance. A discussion on suicide opens the document & orients readers to the larger challenge of clusters. The next section examines a number of challenges in defining suicide clusters & provides some generally agreed upon criteria. The discussion then turns to identifying processes that continue towards the development & maintenance of clusters. A heuristic framework that consists of 4 processes – contagion, complex trauma, oppression, & normalization – follows. The final section focuses of responding to clusters in the short- & long-term. Appendices provide a tool for assisting in the identification of clusters & additional suicide prevention resources.