Issues in research on aging and suicide

Abstract

Objective: Late-life suicide is a complex clinical and public health problem. Method: In this article, some of the key complexities inherent in studying late-life suicide are discussed in the service of promoting high-quality late-life suicide prevention science. Results: We discuss the following research issues: the relatively greater lethality of suicidal behavior in later life (compared to younger ages); the lack of data on whether thoughts of death in later life are indicators of suicide risk; the fact that older adults do not tend to seek specialty mental health care, necessitating moving research into primary care clinics and the community; the lack of theory-based research in late-life suicide; the unclear role of cognitive impairment; and the promise of taking a ‘patient centered’ and ‘participatory research’ approach to late-life suicide research efforts. Conclusion: We believe that these perspectives are too often not capitalized upon in research on suicide prevention with older adults and that voice of the older person could contribute much to our understanding of why older adults think about and act on suicidal thoughts, as well as the most acceptable ways to reach and intervene with those at risk.