
One Teenager Killed Himself. Six More Followed - atdrummond
https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-teenager-killed-himself-six-more-followed-11555061402
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DanBC
We need to be really careful with reporting supposed suicide clusters.

The most famous recent case in the UK - Bridgend - turned out to have been
_caused by_ reporting of it. That is, a few deaths happened, then
sensationalist news reporting happened, and a lot more deaths happened.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3756004/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3756004/)

> There was a possible suicide cluster in young people in Bridgend between
> December 2007 and February 2008. This cluster was smaller, shorter in
> duration, and predominantly later than the phenomenon that was reported in
> national and international print media. Further investigation of factors
> leading to the onset and termination of this series of deaths, in particular
> the role of the media, is required

[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/769469/Identifying_and_responding_to_suicide_clusters_and_contagion.pdf)

[https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/0227-5910/a0004...](https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/0227-5910/a000410)

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2008/02/reporting_bri...](https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2008/02/reporting_bridgend.html)

I'm always surprised, alarmed, at the very poor quality of reporting on
suicide coming from the US. It feels like US journalists just don't care that
the words they chose can cause significant harm.

~~~
rolph
And its hidden behind a wall, so some form of monetization is connected to
this.

------
atdrummond
On another "cluster": [https://thevillagefreepress.org/2019/04/14/maywood-hit-
with-...](https://thevillagefreepress.org/2019/04/14/maywood-hit-with-a-
suicide-cluster-needs-more-experts-to-confront-this-crisis/)

