Suicide Can Be Contagious Among Teens

Suicide can be contagious, especially among teenagers, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

The research suggests that one person's suicide can influence another person's suicidal thoughts or behavior, and this is particularly seen among younger adolescents.

Additionally, the teens do not have to be personally associated with the suicide victim to start thinking about suicide or to attempt suicide themselves, the investigators discovered.

Dr. Ian Colman, an assistant professor at the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine and Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Epidemiology, said:

"When someone dies, particularly a young person, the deceased is described by their loved ones in the media and in social media in glowing, romantic terms, often mentioning how beautiful the child was.

Talk like this is common when any child dies, but it can be dangerous when talking about suicide. When other vulnerable youth are reading or hearing about this, they see the reports about how wonderful the person was and they want their loved ones to feel the same way about them."

A previous study suggested that teens are at the highest risk of attempting suicide within two years after a parent has attempted suicide or has received inpatient care because of a mental disorder.

For the current investigation, the experts gathered and analyzed data from more than 22,000 volunteers between the ages of 12 and 17.

According to the results, 12-to-13 year olds who had been exposed to suicide had a five times higher risk of contemplating suicide themselves or to say that they had attempted suicide.

After factoring in the adolescent's personal knowledge of the person who died, the scientists were surprised to see that there was nearly no difference in these statistics.

As the teenager grows older, the influence seems to decline, the researchers explained. Fourteen-to-fifteen year olds who were exposed to suicide were three times as likely to think about or attempt suicide, while those aged 16-to-17 were twice as likely.

These results have practical implications for experts in the mental health field concerned with prevention.

Dr. Colman said:

"It's clear that these results support the suicide contagion hypothesis, especially among younger adolescents.  It most certainly supports school-based interventions as opposed to high-risk interventions aimed solely at the friends of the deceased."

The report emphasizes the unfortunate consequences that may unintentionally result when the public pays too much attention to individual suicide cases.

It is critical to re-evaluate current strategies that are associated with the support and creation of mental health programs, the authors said.

A study from earlier this year indicated that most suicidal teens being treated still attempt suicide, suggesting that they are not being given the proper treatment.