Reflections of Older Adults on the Process Preceding Their Suicide Attempt: A Qualitative Approach

Abstract

The study explores the reflections of older adults on the process preceding their suicide attempt. Data were gathered using in-depth interviews with eight older inpatients who had attempted suicide. Grounded theory methodology was used for data analysis. They described their life and the self as disrupted after experiencing a loss, loneliness, loss of control, and unwillingness to continue living the current life. The findings suggest that the concurrence of these constructs precedes a suicide attempt in later life.

Factors determining the balance between the wish to die and the wish to live in older adults

“…In this way, the WTD may partly be buffered by the WTL through social support: the latter may function then as an important determinant of a remaining WTL when a WTD is present because of a lower sense of well‐being. The key role of social support in the onset to a WTD is congruent with the empirical finding that loneliness is an important component in the pathway to a suicide attempt (Wiktorsson et al ., ; Bonnewyn et al ., ). The feelings of loneliness and social disconnectedness play a crucial role in the suicidal process, but the presence of social support functions as a threshold to act on the WTD.…”

Self-harm in older adults: systematic review

“…Country of origin of the included studies were mainly Englishspeaking countries (n = 21). However, 17 studies [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56] were from non-English-speaking countries, with 16 different countries being represented. Two were multi-site studies across Europe, including both English-and non-English-speaking countries.…”

“…The ethnicity of the remaining 18.6% (n = 1219) of participants was unknown. A total of 27 studies [20][21][22]24,25,27,28,[31][32][33]35,37,40,[42][43][44][45][46][48][49][50][51][53][54][55]57,58 reported the marital status of their participants (n = 4161): approximately half were not married (51%, n = 2121), 38% (n = 1582) were married and the marital status of the remaining 11% (n = 461) was unknown. Over half of the studies 19,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28]31,35,41,[44][45][46]48,50,51,53,[55][56][57][58] (n = 3103) reported participants' living situation: 53.5% ...…”

“…A total of 30 studies [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]31,32,35,37,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]48,51,[54][55][56][57][58] reported participants' previous psychiatric history (n = 10 976), including alcohol and substance misuse, schizophrenia and personality disorder, with 30% of participants having previous psychiatric history (n = 3279). Depression was the most commonly reported psychiatric diagnosis (n = 7893) across the 29 studies reporting depression.…”

“…A total of 25 studies [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]31,34,35,37,[39][40][41][42]45,48,49,51,[53][54][55]58 reported comorbid physical illness among older adults who self-harm (n = 4211). Chronic physical illness (including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, neurological problems) was common among participants, with 40% having a comorbid condition (n = 1666).…”