Abstract
Older adults are at heightened risk for suicide relative to young- and middle-aged adults, as their attempts are most likely to result in death. Several factors have been implicated in late-life suicide, including mental illness, physical illness, and functional impairment, as well as discordant social relationships. Socioeconomic factors appear to be associated with suicidality in later life as well, and there is also growing neurobiological and neuropsychological evidence that frontal lobe dysfunction increases vulnerability to suicide. Several contemporary theories of suicide are discussed in the context of late-life suicide. We discuss several methods to assess risk for suicide among older adults. Finally, we discuss suicide-specific interventions that may have utility in reducing suicide risk in older adults, followed by a discussion of behavioral treatments that may reduce suicide risk through mitigating frontal lobe dysfunction, and an interpersonally-focused treatment that may reduce risk through improving social relationships.
Published Version
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