Effect of 7 July 2005 Terrorist Attacks in London on Suicide in England and Wales

This study examined the effects of the July 2005 terrorist attacks in London on suicide rates in England & Wales. An analysis was done of the number of suicide & undetermined injury deaths reported in the 12 weeks before & after July 7. Shewhart Control Charts based on Poisson rates were used to explore adjusted daily & weekly suicide rates & rate differences. A brief but significant reduction in daily suicide rates was observed a few days after the terrorist attack. Further reduction was also observed on July 21, 2005, coinciding with the second wave of attacks. The study findings were contrary to expectations & only weakly support Durkheim’s theory that periods of national threat lower the suicide rate through the impact on social cohesion. (28 refs.)