Completed Suicide With Violent and Non-violent Methods by the Elderly in Rural China

A Psychological Autopsy Study

Bibliographic Data

ID15523596
AuthorsRong‐Ting Zhu (0000-0001-6228-1803, Guangzhou Psychiatric Hospital), Rong-Ting Zhu, Zhenyu Ma (0000-0002-7984-1827, Guangxi Medical University), Zhen-Yu Ma, Cun-Xian Jia (0000-0002-2651-147X, Shandong University), Liang Zhou (0000-0003-4374-2242, Guangzhou Psychiatric Hospital, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume12
Pages624398-624398
Publication date2021-06-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2021.624398
PMID34211408
OpenAlexW3168832143
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited45

Background: Late-life suicide is a severe public health problem in rural China; however, knowledge regarding the specific characteristics and risk factors for completed suicide via violent and non-violent methods among elderly individuals in rural China is limited. Methods: Subjects aged 60 years or older were selected from rural areas in Shandong, Hunan, and Guangxi provinces in China. This study was a 1:1 matched case-control design conducted by using the psychological autopsy method. Results: According to the univariate analyses, the presence of mental disorder, higher degree of depression, loneliness, lack of social support, hopelessness, impulsivity, and increased quantity of life events were associated with suicide in both violent and non-violent methods. For violent suicide, another risk factor was the lack of pesticides at home. For non-violent suicide, other risk factors were not currently married, family suicide history, and alcohol use disorder ( P Conclusion: The major risk factor for both violent and non-violent suicide was the severity of depressive symptoms. Suicide prevention measures that focus on depression among this vulnerable population are urgently needed. Moreover, the characteristics of suicides via violent methods differed from those via non-violent methods among elderly individuals. Suicide prevention efforts should be tailored to the specific characteristics of the different suicide methods utilized by older adults in rural areas

Depression (economics · Environmental health · Injury prevention · Loneliness · Poison control · Population · Psychiatry · Risk factor · Suicide prevention · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse · Medicine · Neuroscience of respiration and sleep · Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies