摘要:

ABSTRACTElderly people who are at high risk for suicide often have characteristics that are associated with reduced opportunity or inclination to communicate (e.g., male, living alone, residing in a low‐income transient urban area, suffering from a depressive state). This paper attempts to provide converging perspectives on death and suicide from the standpoints of both the external observer and the elderly person. An interpretation of the statistical pattern is followed by a critique of current policy proposals for limiting society's response to the needs of vulnerable people on the basis of a “natural life span.” Studies of elderly people themselves reveal a great diversity of attitudes toward death that is not well served by generalizations and stereotypes. However, it appears that stressful conditions of life arouse more anxiety among older people than does the prospect of

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00472.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTSuicide rates in the United States and most other countries are higher among the elderly than among the population as a whole. Typically, rates peak in older adulthood. Epidemiological data for the current levels and trends in suicide among the elderly are presented with a focus on United States figures. Age, sex, race, marital status, and methods of suicide as factors in suicide among the old are detailed, followed by a discussion of past trends and future predictions of changes in elderly suicide rates. In addition to fatal suicidal behaviors, the data and literatures on parasuicide and survivors of elderly suicide are briefly noted.

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00473.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTA review of research found that the suicide rates of the elderly show similar regional social correlates as the suicide rates of younger groups and that these rates can be explained using similar sociological theories. Time‐series studies in the USA indicate that the impact of economic prosperity on the suicide rate of the elderly is beneficial, whereas the impact on the suicide rate of younger adults is detrimental. The issues raised by this research are discusse

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00474.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTMost studies of suicide in younger patients have demonstrated significant alterations in the serotonin system. Although a high percentage of completed suicides occur in late‐life, to date very few studies of the biology of suicide have focused on this age group. This chapter describes age‐related changes in the central nervous system pertinent to the biology of suicide, then reviews port‐mortem biological studies of the brains of suicides and suicide attempters. As suicide attempts in the elderly are characterized by the use of violent means, biologic studies of impulsive violence are discussed. Finally we describe data on the effect of degenerative diseases on the serotonin system and the possible link to increased suicidal behavior in affected patients. This review underscores the need for further study of the biology of suicide in the geriatric age

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00475.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTAlthough not true in all countries, older adults are the developmental age group at highest risk for death by suicide in the United States. Our knowledge of suicide in the elderly is, however, limited. The psychological characteristics for suicide cannot be attributed primarily or even solely to being old. One avenue to understanding this complicated act in the elderly is suicide notes. Despite their limitations, suicide notes contain special revelations of the human mind and there is much one can learn from them about suicide in the older adult. This paper outlines the sparse literature on the topic of suicide notes of the older adult and then presents the author's own life‐span research related to the elderly. The research indicated that long‐term instability was critical in understanding suicide in the older adult. However, indirect expressions (e.g., ambivalence, unconscious implications) were much less frequently observed in the notes of the elderly than other adults. The research also found that older males often wrote about painful problems in their interpersonal relations in their final letters and this pain was significant in making their final decision. Future research, specifically regarding aprotocol analysisbased on a review of the research on suicide in the elderly, will be discus

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00476.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTGender is one of the most important predictors of suicide in the elderly. In North America, older women are less likely to be suicidal than older men. So far, suicidologists have either ignored gender differences or have focused on the presumed causes of older men's suicidal behavior. In this paper, the focus is on older women's low rates of suicidal mortality. On the basis of a review of the literature, several hypotheses are suggested. One is that gender differences in suicide mortality reflect differences in coping. Another hypothesis is that gender differences are influenced by gender norms of suicidal behavior. Directions for prevention are proposed.

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00477.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTOne major purpose of this study was to identify environmental factors related to suicide in long‐term care facilities. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of administrators at 1,080 facilities. Information was collected on facility characteristics, overt suicide, and intentional life‐threatening behavior.Chi‐square analyses revealed 4 environmental characteristics related to suicidal behavior and deaths from suicide: staff turnover, size, auspices, and per diem cost. More suicides occurred in larger facilities and facilities with higher staff turnover. Religious or “other” facilities experienced more suicidal deaths than public or private facilities; facilities charging less experienced mo

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00478.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTThis report examines the changing role of social supports in the bereavement of spouses of elderly suicide and natural deaths, focusing on differences and similarities in relation to gender, time, and mode of death. Measurements were obtained 4 times after death (within 2 months, at 6 months, at 12 months, and at 2 to 2 1/2 years) on 79% of the 108 survivors of elderly suicide, 89% of the 199 natural death survivors, and 79% of the nonbereaved controls. The results indicated that the suicide survivors received significantly less emotional support for their feelings of depression and grief than the natural death survivors, and that they did not confide in the persons in their network any more than the nonbereaved controls did. Women report receiving more support overall than men. A low spot in social supports occurred at the 6‐month point after loss for both bereaved groups, but primarily in practical help received by natural death survivors. By the end of the second year, both practical and emotional supports had increased to at least the same level as immediately after deat

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00479.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTOld age, in and of itself, should never need to be a cause for self‐destruction. But suicide and assisted suicide carried out in the face of terminal illness causing unbearable suffering should be ethically and legally acceptable. This paper outlines a perspective on rational suicide—the final exit—among the el

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00480.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACTSuicide is a reaction to internal and external sources of stress and the impact of life events. In the elderly these situations are prevalent in many who are not suicidal and instead choose life. They represent what may be called rational nonsuicide. They are far more frequent than rational suicide. Nevertheless, considerably more is written about rational suicide than its alternative. The reasons for this phenomenon are reviewed, and suggestions are made for a rational approach to the affirmation of life rather than its rejection, even to the very end.

ISSN:0363-0234    

DOI:10.1111/j.1943-278X.1992.tb00481.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY