An Epidemic

Suicide Clusters in America's Young

In the U.S., suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people between the ages of 10 and 25. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the suicide rate, defined as total number of deaths by suicide per 100,000 population, has been steadily increasing between 2001 and 2017. Moreover, the suicide rate among males is four times the suicide rate among females. Perhaps even more troubling is the notion of suicide clusters, sometimes referred to as “suicide contagion” or the “copycat effect,” defined in the Lancet as a greater number of suicide cases occur at a certain point in time (mass cluster) or in a certain geographic location (point cluster). In fact, suicide clustering is more common in young people (< age 25) than in adults. The cause of these clusters are varied, stemming from the way the media reports on suicide and to popular culture and the rapid transmission of information over social media today. However, what we can learn from the different causes are that suicide clusters are in fact preventable if action is taken. To investigate the factors behind suicide clustering and to learn what you can do to help, click on the case studies that intrigue you in the carousel above, or learn about specific types of clustering below.