TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Cluster Hanging Suicides in the Young in South Australia
JO  - Journal of forensic sciences
A1  - Austin, Amy E.
A1  - van den Heuvel, Corinna
A1  - Byard, Roger W.
SP  - 1528
EP  - 1530
VL  - 56
IS  - 6
N2  - A retrospective review of hanging suicides in individuals aged ≤17 years was undertaken at Forensic Science South Australia, Australia, over two 5-year periods: 1995-1999 and 2005-2009. Seven cases of hanging suicides were identified from 1995 to 1999, with a further 14 cases from 2005 to 2009, an increase of 100% (p < 0.001). Hanging accounted for 33.3% of all suicides in this age group (7/21) from 1995 to 1999, compared with 93.3% of the total number of suicides (14/15) in the second 5-year period. In contrast, Australian national data from 1998 and 2008 showed a 30% decrease in hanging suicides in the young, from one case/100,000 population in 1998 to 0.7 in 2008. Cluster suicides occur in the young and are often initiated by direct communication. As it is possible that Internet-based social sites may facilitate this phenomenon, investigations should include an evaluation of the victim's Internet access given the potential risk of similar actions by peers.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0022-1198
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01840.x
ID  - ref1
ER  -