ABSTRACT
Internationally, there is growing public and professional interest in clustering and contagion in suicidal behaviour. Internationally, there is a lack of consistency in defining suicide clusters, which is partly due to limited data and absence of controlled studies. Most studies so far included narrative reports of potential suicide clusters without appropriate statistical verification. However, while both approaches have their merits when taken in isolation, it is their combination that offers the best opportunity to further our understanding of the mechanisms of suicide clustering. There is evidence that suicide clustering and contagion are more prominent when media coverage is extensive and when suicides are glamorized and reported upon in detail. There is growing evidence supporting the negative impact of new media on suicide contagion and clustering. The research evidence from narrative and statistical studies investigating point clusters consistently focuses to adolescents and young adults as being most at risk of suicide clustering.
