SUICIDE AMONG ELDERLY IN U.S.   Term Paper ID:25737 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Suicide rates, causes, risk factors, sociocultural aspects, preventive programs, role of social workers, myths.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Suicide rates, causes, risk factors, sociocultural aspects, preventive programs, role of social workers, myths. Paper Introduction: This paper is an examination of the issue of suicide among the elderly in America. Between 1940 and 1980, suicide rates among those 65 and older had been declining. However, in 1980, the rate began to increase; while individuals over 65 now constitute 13 percent of the total population, they account for 20 percent of all deaths attributed to suicide. This is not solely an American problem: older males have the highest rate of suicide in almost every industrialized nation in the world. Depression is the most common single diagnosis leading the suicide, and the increased social acceptability of suicide may be one the most important factors in a depressed individual's choice to end his or her life. Since most older people do not seek outside help for their depression and suicidal thoughts, physicians, social workers, and family members need to learn to Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The differential impact of the economy on suicidein the young and the elderly: The American experience. Kaplan, M. Unlike suicides in younger people, older suicides most often had beensuffering from depression, uncomplicated with other mental illness. One of the other commonly-accepted myths about suicide is that mostsuicidal people really want to die. Some experts have found other correlations, including a connectionbetween the weather and bouts of depression in the elderly. Suicide among older persons - United States,198 -1992. The largest relative increase insuicide rates between 198 and 1992 occurred among men ages 8 to 84, asthis population segment has expanded as a whole. Kaplan (1998, July)observes that many family practice physicians are unaware of the dangerthat available guns presents to elderly patients suffering from depression. Age differences in behaviors leading tocompleted suicide. Kaplan and his colleagues (1998,July) note that doctors who deal with the elderly need to undergocontinuous medical training in suicide risk assessment in order to bestserve their patients (p. Althoughsenior citizens make up a small percentage of the whole population (13percent), they account for 2 percent of all suicides. Journal of the American Medical Association, 275(7), 5 9. As the effects of cultural upheaval dissipated,however, the contributions of the elders became less important and theirsuicide rate increased (though the rate still remains below that of elderlywhite Alaskans). Psychological Reports,82(1), 311-322.----------------------- 1 Many older patients had visited a health-care provider shortly beforecommitting suicide. Depression is the most common single diagnosis leading the suicide, andthe increased social acceptability of suicide may be one the most importantfactors in a depressed individual's choice to end his or her life. While significant medicaladvances have allowed increasing numbers of individuals to live longerlives, the quality of those lives is not always better. E.; & Rhoades, J. For 4 years, from 194 to 198 , suicide rates among those 65 andolder had been slowly declining in the United States (JAMA, 1996, February,p. Conwell, Y.; Duberstein, P. A fifth factor likely to account for the rise in suicides is theincrease in divorce rates and the loss of spouses through widowhood.Suicide rates among the elderly are highest for those who are divorced orwidowed; an elderly man who loses his spouse is 17 times more likely tocommit suicide than is a married woman of the same age (JAMA, 1996,February, p. 5 9). Third, social work professionals have increasingly recognized theother ways in which suicidal impulses can be expressed. Paul Kettl (1998, June) portrays a different culture's effect onelderly suicide. Senior centers can also beuseful in preventing depression and suicidal thoughts by involving olderpeople in a variety of purposeful activities. (1995). Since older patientsare less likely than the young to seek counselling for depression or tomake use of suicide hotlines, those who deal with the elderly on a regularbasis need to learn to broach the subject with patients who seem to be atrisk. S. Such programs enlist retirees as surrogate grandparentsfor in-school and after-school programs, benefitting both the volunteersand the students. Between 194 and 198 , suicide rates among those 65and older had been declining. (1998, January). He shows that, during the Alaska "oil boom" of the 198 s,suicide rates more than tripled for the general population of AlaskanNatives but decreased to zero for the tribal elders (p. 112). F. Age, sex, marital status andsuicide: An empirical study of East and West. 2 8). 66). Cultural factors play an important role in suicide among the elderly,as several studies have indicated. The ready availability of firearms is considered by many experts tobe a fourth possible cause in the rise of suicide among the elderly. is always an act against the self and a communication toothers for whom the termination of one's life has some real or hoped-formeaning" (Conwell, et al., 1988, Spring, p. Advocates of euthanasia and assisted suicide, most notably Dr.Jack Kevorkian, have increased the public's awareness of the "right to die"movement and heightened social sensitivity to suicide as a choice to endthe suffering engendered by terminal illness and other prolonged diseases.Although suicide remains a controversial decision even in the cases ofextreme suffering, it has become a choice more sanctioned by mainstreamsociety. Suicide does not need to become a common or widely acceptedchoice for elderly individuals simply because of their age. James R. For some, failing health was a factor in theirdecision to die, but for others, their visit to the doctors appeared tohave reinforced their decision to commit suicide while they were still incommand of their bodies and could act on the self-destructive choice.Primary care physicians are therefore in a particularly advantageousposition to identify at-risk patients. (1998, February). Among these is the myth that asking a person about his orher suicidal feelings will provoke him or her to act. Iris Chi and her colleagues (1998)studied suicide rates among the older population of Hong Kong, finding thatrates were higher in more crowded districts that had fewer medical andsocial facilities (p. Professionals sometimes view these actions asexpressions of the forgetfulness of old age, rather than as deliberate actsof self-destruction and withdrawal from life or indications of a reversibledepression. 5 9). While most were alone before death and sufferedfrom chronic diseases, few were totally dependent on others. McCartney, director of geriatric psychiatry at LifespanAcademic Medical Hospitals in Providence, RI, argues, "Suicide or attemptedsuicide . 126). Alaska Native suicide: Lessons for eldersuicide. Between 198 and 199 , however, the rate began to increaseslowly, and, by 1992, the last year in which complete statistics arecurrently available, the suicide rate among the elderly had risen to 19.1for every 1 , individuals in the over-65 population, significantlyabove the overall rate of 11.1 per 1 , in all age groups. S. Crisis, 19(1), 35-46. Among men 65and over, the rate had grown to an alarming 38.4 per 1 , , makingsuicide an important cause of death within this population group. R.: Cox, C.; Herrmann, J.; Forbes, N.; &Caine, E. A. Many older patients contribute to this bias throughnoncompliance with medical programs and other forms of "silent suicide,"such as self-starvation. 124).Psychological intervention is frequently less effective with older patientsonce they have decided to commit suicide; Conwell's research suggests thatsocial workers need to focus on primary prevention, targeting olderindividuals who are at risk before they reach a crisis stage (p. The decision to endone's life can be a cry for help or attention, an expression of deep anger,or a confused response to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. . This paper is an examination of the issue of suicide among theelderly in America. A patient whorefuses to comply with a medical treatment program or who "forgets" to eatregularly can often be seen as expressing a wish to die that is as profoundas the patient who uses a gun or sleeping pills in an obvious, purposefulact. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, 1996,February) points out common myths about suicide that may preventprofessionals who are not trained in intervention from effectively helpingolder patients. Yip, P. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13(1),66. Amongolder men, guns are used in 74 percent of all successful suicides; womenuse firearms only 31 percent of the time, which nonetheless still makesthis the single most common method used. Of these elderlysuicides, 81 percent are men. . 64). For example, Bijou Yang(1995) presents evidence indicating that economic forces are less importantin elderly suicides than in the young (p. Godber, C. These figures include only deaths directlyattributable to suicide; other forms of death can sometimes also be seen asless overt acts of self-destruction, such as situations in which a patientignored a physician's treatment plan. 123). In a survey of primary care physicians in Illinois, 42 percent did notroutinely ask depressed elderly patients about their access to firearms,despite the overwhelmingly high probability that their patients might use agun to carry out their suicidal intentions (p. Mark S. International Psychogeriatrics, 1 (2), 2 5-211. (1998). Without such heightenedawareness, this rising trend could become an epidemic with severe socialconsequences. Kettl, P. K. This is not solely an American problem: older males have thehighest rate of suicide in almost every industrialized nation in the world. Increasingadvances in medicine and social support can allow most older individuals tocontinue to live rich, productive, healthy lives long past the age ofretirement. One of Chi'scolleagues, Paul S. (1998, June). Suicidal impulsesare often provoked by the loss of emotional support, and the beginning ofgood weather may trigger a greater awareness of such loss in many olderindividuals. Kettl (1998, June) argues that the story of the Alaskan Native eldersis instructive for the general population: "When the population as a wholerecognizes and values its older members, they are less likely to considertheir lives worth ending" (p. F. (1998, Spring). During thisperiod, the cultural teachings and leadership of the elders becameextremely important to the tribes as a whole, affirming their value toevery member of the group. Someschools, for example, have found senior citizens to be a valuable resourcein filling the need for volunteer help which working parents are no longerable to provide. Talking about suicidal thoughts is often the first step towardpreventing suicide as a way to escape problems. The risk factors for elderly suicide are different from those inyounger patients, and professionals must recognize these differences inorder to design effective prevention programs. D. Even among the elderly, faced withincreasing social isolation and, frequently, failing physical health, thedecision to commit suicide is rarely an unequivocal choice. (1998, July).Prevention of elderly suicide: Physicians' assessment of firearmavailability. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 5(1), 6 -64. ---. Other programs attempt to target at-risk seniors and pair them withcollege students majoring in social work, providing a link between theelderly patient and a more active environment. Experts theorize on the factors responsible for these trends. The isolation and marginalization thatoften accompany old age need to be countered with programs and environmentsthat continue to include elderly citizens in mainstream activities. Elderly suicide and weather conditions: Is there a link? Older suicides are evenlydistributed across socioeconomic lines, and a healthy bank account is noguarantee against self-destruction. F.; Y, G. 32 ), and suggestingthat the heavy responsibility and workload expected of married women inthis culture may account for their tendency to choose suicide as an escape. 38). References Chi, I.; Yip, P. The alarming increases in suicide among the elderly should serve as awake-up call to the medical and social work community, as well as tosociety as a whole to find ways to intervene early in at-risk cases andreverse some of the trends that have made self-destruction a growingresponse to the pressures and challenges of aging. First,the population as a whole is aging, and a greater proportion of thepopulation is living well past 65. 211). K.; & Halliday, P. Itcan be triggered by mental illness, significant life events, or a moment'simpulse. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 6(2), 122-126. Colin Godber(1998, January) suggests that good weather and the onset of summer arelikely to increase depression and suicidal thoughts in older individuals,perhaps because improvements in the weather make aging patients moreacutely aware of their own physical failings (p. S.; Adamek, M. While psychologists and social workers have studied suicide insome depth, the increasing problem of suicide among the elderly hasreceived professional attention only recently. (1996, February). Archives ofSuicide Research, 1(2), 111-12 . 63). A studyof elderly suicides in Hong Kong. Physicians canprolong the physical lives of many older patients without being able toimprove other elements. Sincemost older people do not seek outside help for their depression andsuicidal thoughts, physicians, social workers, and family members need tolearn to recognize this growing problem and institute preventive measureswhere possible. Yang, B. Second, suicide has become an increasingly acceptable choice withinsociety. However, in 198 , the rate began toincrease; while individuals over 65 now constitute 13 percent of the totalpopulation, they account for 2 percent of all deaths attributed tosuicide. YeatesConwell and his colleagues (1988, Spring) note that older suicides areusually accomplished through more determined and planful self-destructiveacts with fewer advance warnings than are seen among the young (p. Social work professionals and physicians need to be educated in theprevalence of suicide among the elderly, since many still consider olderpatients to be unlikely candidates for psychoanalysis or psychologicaltreatment. Yip (1998, February), prepared a separate study,focusing on the marital status and social situation of the women studied.He found that the highest rate of suicide among elderly women in Hong Kongwas found in those who were married, concluding, "The women seem not tohave benefitted in marriage as much as the men" (p. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.