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Suicide

Why Are Older Men So Vulnerable

Bibliographic Data

ID2388208
AuthorsSilvia S Canetto (0000-0002-9282-7747, Colorado State University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume20
Issue1
Pages49-70
Publication date2017-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMen and Masculinities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1097-184X • E-ISSN: 1552-6828
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1097184x15613832
OpenAlexW2319825300
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited83

Globally, older adults have higher suicide rates than other age-groups. However, it is predominantly men who die of suicide in late adulthood, with variability by culture. In the United States, European-descent men are overrepresented among suicide decedents. In this article, theories and evidence about aging adversities, individual dispositions, and cultural influences were evaluated for their potential to explain the suicide vulnerability of European-descent older men. Aging adversities were not found to account for these men's suicide proneness. European-descent older men are exposed to less severe aging adversities than older women or ethnic-minority men-though they may be more impacted by them. Rigidity in coping and in sense of self, consistent with hegemonic-masculinity scripts, emerged as individual-level clues. The indignities-of-aging and the masculinity-of-suicide scripts may be cultural influences. This analysis shows how consideration of masculinities and suicide scripts expands our understanding of older men's suicide as well as, likely, our tools for its prevention

Ethnic group · Hegemonic masculinity · Masculinity · Medical emergency · Poison control · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Demography · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies

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Unique citing works33
Citations per year3,67
Citation span2017 - 2026 (10)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 32
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