Older adults make sense of their suicidal behavior

A Swedish interview study

Bibliographic Data

ID15528506
AuthorsSara Hed (0000-0001-5009-4517, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, corresponding author), Anne Ingeborg Berg (0009-0004-3444-4897, University of Gothenburg), Stefan Wiktorsson (0000-0003-0412-4679, Sahlgrenska University Hospital), Jennifer Strand (University of Gothenburg), Silvia S Canetto (0000-0002-9282-7747, Colorado State University), Margda Waern (0000-0002-8330-6915, Sahlgrenska University Hospital)
Year2024
Volume15
Pages1450683-1450683
Publication date2024-09-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1450683
PMID39310661
OpenAlexW4402203074
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited35

Participants' age-related losses were in many cases exacerbated by negative interactions with health care providers, indicating that continued attention needs to be given to implicit ageism in medical professionals. The suicidal acts were described as impulsive, which was unexpected because a dominant belief is that older adult suicidal behavior is planned. One reason for the discrepancy may be that this study focused on nonfatal acts, and planned acts may be more likely to be fatal. Another reason could be shame due to suicide stigma. Alternatively, these acts were truly unplanned. The older adult suicide planning question should be addressed in larger studies across geographical and cultural settings. Future studies should also include questions about gender norms of suicidality and separately examine women's and men's data

Developmental psychology · Medical emergency · Poison control · Psychiatry · Suicidal ideation · Suicide prevention · Clinical Psychology · Medicine · Mental Health Research Topics · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies