ABSTRACT
Women who commit suicide use less violent methods, such as drugs and carbon monoxide poisoning, than do men, who more often use violent methods such as guns and hanging. Theories that attempt to explain this finding focus on gender differences in suicidal intent, socialization, emotions, interpersonal relationships, orientation and access to methods, and neurobiological factors. Data from a psychological autopsy study were used to test the theory that women who commit suicide use less violent means because they are less intent on dying. Although women were significantly less likely to use a violent method than men, there was no difference in the lethality of their suicidal intent.
Subject(s)
Cause of Death , Motivation , Suicide/statistics & numerical data , Violence , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Analysis of Variance , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , New York , Risk Factors , Sex Distribution , Sex Factors , Suicide/psychologyABSTRACT
The neuropsychological performance of 18 older inpatients with major depression who were admitted following a suicide attempt was compared with that of 29 older depressed inpatients who had never attempted suicide. There was an interactive effect of age and group on the Trail Making Test, part B, such that attempters showed greater performance declines with age. No other differences were detected between groups on a range of neuropsychological tasks. These findings are discussed in the context of the methodological limitations of previous studies and the need for future research to better elucidate the nature of the relationships between age, cognitive functioning, and suicidal behavior.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder, Major/psychology , Neuropsychological Tests , Suicide, Attempted/psychology , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Depressive Disorder, Major/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neurocognitive Disorders/diagnosis , Neurocognitive Disorders/psychology , Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data , Psychometrics , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Completed suicide may be the most preventable lethal complication of depressive disorders in older adults. Identification of risk factors for suicidal behavior has therefore become a major public health priority. Using data collected on 81 depressed patients 50 years of age and older, we report analyses designed to determine the associations between the personality traits that constitute the Five Factor Model of personality and measures of suicidal behavior and ideation. We hypothesized that low Extraversion would be associated with a lifetime history of attempted suicide, and high Neuroticism would be associated with suicidal ideation. Results were generally consistent with the hypotheses. We also observed a relationship between Openness to Experience and suicidal ideation. These findings suggest that longstanding patterns of behaving, thinking, and feeling contribute to suicidal behavior and thoughts in older adults and highlight the need to consider personality traits in crafting and targeting prevention strategies.
