Imitative Suicide in a Cohesive Organization: Observations from a Case Study

Abstract

Three suicides occurred within 3 years in a military unit of 35 individuals. This represented an annual rate 220 times the North American average. A clinical intervention was requested by medical authorities, the goal being to minimize the risk of further deaths. Group and individual therapy was conducted over 3 days and ongoing referrals were made as necessary. In addition, measures of anxiety, depression, and hostility were obtained from this unit and from a unit equivalent in size and job description to examine whether these constructs could be used diagnostically. Analysis of the data indicated that differences in mean scores between the units yielded potentially misleading information, although on an individual basis scores were useful in identifying clients at risk of suicide. When those who personally knew one or more of the deceased were compared with those who did not, variability of scores in conjunction with interviews was helpful in identifying relatively high-risk subgroups.