Resumen de Cluster Hanging Suicides in the Young in South Australia
Amy Austin, Corinna van den Heuvel, Roger W. Byard
Keywords:forensic science;suicide;hanging;cluster;children;adolescents;Internet Abstract: 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.
