WHO Violence cuts short the lives of millions of people across the world each year, and damages the lives of millions more. It knows no boundaries of geography, race, age or income. It strikes at children, young people, women and the elderly. It finds its way into homes, schools and the workplace. Men and women everywhere have the right to live their lives and raise their children free from the fear of violence. We must help them enjoy that right by making it clearly understood that violence is preventable, and by working together to identify and address its underlying causes.

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World report on violence and health

Risk factors for suicide in later life

Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method.

http://gero.usc.edu/AgeWorks/spring_session2013/tdl/gero510/gero510-2013pdfs/wk12-Mental-Health-and-Aging/SuicideElderly.pdf

Suicide in Older Adults

Despite the fact that people age 65 and older have the highest rates of suicide of any age-group, late-life suicide has a low prevalence, making it difficult to conduct prospective studies. The authors examined risk factors for late-life suicide on the basis of general information collected directly from older subjects participating in a community-based prospective study of aging, the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly. Demographic variables, presence of a relative or friend to confide in, alcohol use, and sleep quality were assessed at baseline interview. Baseline and follow-up data were used to determine physical, cognitive, and affective functioning, as well as medical status. Of 14,456 people, 21 committed suicide over the 10-year observation period. Depressive symptoms, perceived health status, sleep quality, and absence of a relative or friend to confide in predicted late-life suicide. Suicide victims did not have greater alcohol use and did not report more medical illness or physical impairment. This study provided additional information about the context of late-life depression that also contributes to suicidal behavior: poor perceived health, poor sleep quality, and limited presence of a relative or friend to confide in.

Risk Factors for Late-Life Suicide: A Prospective, Community-Based Study

Epidemiology - The Variety and Extent of Suicidal Behaviour in Older Adulthood Theories of Suicide Special High Risk Factors in Suicide Among Older Adults Clinical Approaches to Depressed and Suicidal Elders Suicide Assessment and Intervention With the Elderly Prevention, Ethics and Unresolved Issues.

Elder Suicide: Research, Theory, and Treatment

Suicide rates in the U.S. are highest among the elderly. If the aged make an attempt they usually "succeed" in killing themselves. This makes it imperative to take all of their threats of suicide seriously. Two cases of suicidal behavior from an outreach program for the elderly are presented as typical examples of self-destructive clients. A consideration of these cases, their relevance to factors and problems cited in the literature on aged suicide, and their implications for prevention are given. General preventive measures for suicide among the elderly are suggested to be dependent upon better case finding and identification, a change in the negative social attitude toward the aged, and the dissemination of information and education on suicide. Without these it is unlikely that declines in elderly suicide rates will be realized to the extent of altering the general tendency for suicide to be predominantly an old age phenomenon.

Suicide Among the Elderly

The elderly have the highest suicide rate in the United States. In partial explanation of this finding, a common statement in the suicide literature is that older persons tend to use more drastic and effective methods of suicide. However, little, if any, data have been presented in defense of this explanation. In order to investigate the validity of this contention, annual official statistics for specific methods of suicide (firearms, hanging, poisons) by age for different sex and racial groups (whites, blacks, nonwhites excluding black) were examined from 1960 to 1978. Comparisons among the age-sex-race groups, along with trends over time and differences in the methods employed, were noted. For white males, blacks of both sexes, and nonwhites excluding black females, the findings confirmed the use of more violent methods by the elderly than by the young in terms of the proportion of suicides by firearms and/or hanging. Less support and, in fact, opposite results for method-related age differences were ob...

Methods of Suicide by Age: Sex and Race Differences among the Young and Old.

Suicide rates vary greatly by sex and race but the methods employed by these groups and changes in those methods have been studied neither closely nor systematically across time. In the present study annual official national statistics for specific methods of suicide by sex and racial group from 1923 to 1978 were examined. During this time period shifts were found among groups in the proportions of various suicide methods employed, most notably for women and Asian-Americans. Generally, firearm use increased among nearly all ethnic/racial-sex groups while the use of poisons declined. Although women continue to be more likely than men to kill themselves with solid and liquid poisons, in very recent years firearms have become a more common method. Among Japanese- and Chinese-Americans of both sexes the most frequently employed method has been hanging. Although this is still the case, the proportions have declined over time while the use of firearms has increased. Explanations are offered for the noted changes in method choice with particular attention being given to acculturation and changing societal roles.

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Changing patterns in methods of suicide by race and sex.

Although statements regarding “myths” about suicide are common in the literature, few empirical investigations have been conducted to determine the extent to which such “myths” are believed. A 32-item questionnaire concerning demographic and clinical correlates of suicidality was administered to 271 college students. Past history of personal suicidal behavior and that of others known to the subjects were also determined. In general, performance was poor with an average score of 59.1 percent, or 18.9 items correctly answered. Subjects with the following characteristics performed best (though still at generally low levels): those with training in suicide prevention or crisis intervention, those with some educational experience about suicide, older students, those with higher college class standing and those enrolled in upper level college courses. In a second study, 49 home health care personnel and 32 individuals being trained to do outreach work with the elderly were given a 16-item subset of the...

John F. Santos

Papers

Elder Suicide: Research, Theory, and Treatment

Suicide Among the Elderly

Methods of Suicide by Age: Sex and Race Differences among the Young and Old.

Changing patterns in methods of suicide by race and sex.

Suicide facts and myths: A study of prevalence