The effect of suicide severity and patient’s age on mental health professionals’ willingness to treat

The moderating effect of ageism

Bibliographic Data

ID12096516
AuthorsOfir Neomi Aharon (0009-0007-7235-6339, Ruppin Academic Center), Daniela Aisenberg-Shafran (0000-0001-6649-5489, Ruppin Academic Center), Yossi Levi‐Belz (0000-0002-8865-5639, Ruppin Academic Center, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume48
Issue7
Pages652-662
Publication date2023-09-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDeath Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0748-1187 • E-ISSN: 1091-7683
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07481187.2023.2255854
PMID37695242
OpenAlexW4386591842
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited43

Understanding mental health professionals' (MHPs) willingness to treat suicidal older adults is critical in preventative psychotherapy. We examined the effect of a hypothetical patient's age and suicide severity on MHPs' willingness to treat or refer them to another therapist. Vignettes of hypothetical patients were presented to 368 MHPs aged 24-72 years. The vignettes had two age conditions (young/old) and three suicidality severity conditions. MHPs completed measures of their levels of willingness to treat/likeliness to refer and their levels of ageism. As suicide severity intensified, MHPs were less willing to treat and more likely to refer. Willingness to treat was the lowest for the old/suicide attempt condition. Ageism moderated the relationships between patient age and willingness to treat: MHPs with higher ageism were less willing to treat older than younger patients, regardless of suicidality severity. Findings indicate that MHPs with higher ageism levels are more reluctant to treat older suicidal patients and highlight the need for training MHPs to reduce ageism and enhance competence in suicide interventions

Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Mental health · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Psychiatry · Suicide prevention · Clinical Psychology · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Health and Wellbeing Research · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access