Suicide Prevention

School or Community Memorials for Students Who Have Died by Suicide

Memorials can be a very sensitive issue to parents and loved ones of youth who have died by suicide. Sometimes it is difficult to understand why public memorials are not appropriate for youth who have died by suicide. Survivors may feel that it's unfair that students who die in accidents or of illness are memorialized, but not their child or loved one. The reason is that by memorializing a student who dies of an accident or illness, we don't increase the likelihood of other students dying the same way. The same is not true about suicide; a youth who is struggling with a major crisis may consider suicide a viable option. This is based on research showing that memorials can cause suicidal thinking.  "..public eulogies, flying flags at half-mast, and erecting permanent public memorials..may contribute to suicide contagion by suggesting to susceptible persons that society is honoring the suicidal behavior of the deceased person, rather than mourning the person's death." Centers for Disease Control, MMWR, Recommendations and Reports, April 22, 1994 / 43(RR-6); 9-18. So, while it doesn't make obvious sense to adults who are thinking rationally, memorializing suicide victims may raise suicide rates.

Suggestions for Memorials in Schools

• Do allow students and staff to express their grief in a tangible way, possibly by making donations to a crisis line or one of the other suicide prevention resources on our website.
• Don't allow memorials that increase likelihood of suicide contagion, i.e. planting trees, erecting plaques in the school or community, etc.
• Don't name a scholarship after a youth who has died by suicide. Instead, make contributions to a general scholarship fund if there is one available.
• Do include in the School Board Policy manual a statement about memorials for students who died by suicide that is consistent with the information above.

For more information, The Suicide Prevention Resource Center publishes "After a Suicide: Recommendations for Religious Services and Other Public Memorial Observances."

For questions about this information, contact John P. Humphries (608) 266-7189

Last updated on 5/1/2009 1:43:24 PM