Psychological factors among elderly women with suicidal intentions or attempts to suicide: a controlled comparison.
The aim of this study was to measure a range of psychological factors identified as important in the literature (resilience, psychological distress, feelings of hopelessness, personal and interpersonal control) among community-dwelling elderly women (N = 31) who had suicidal intentions or attempted suicide. The target group was matched to a control group on age within 5 years. The target group reported lower resilience, personal and interpersonal control but higher psychological distress and feelings of hopelessness compared to the control group. Women who had suicidal ideation or attempts in the last 12 months reported higher personal and interpersonal control. This suggests that although suicide among older women is strongly linked to psychological factors, it warrants further investigation.
Lau
Rosalind
R
Monash University, Centre of Medicine Use and Safety, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Rosalind.Lau@pharm.monash.edu.au
Morse
Carol A
CA
Macfarlane
Stephen
S
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008016:Life Change Events; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*