The Mediation Effect of Depression between Perceived Burdensomeness, Thwarted Belongingness and Suicidal Ideation among Older Adults

Abstract

This study attempted to verify the mediation effects of the depression between the perceived burdensomeness, the thwarted belongingness and the suicidal ideation among the older adults in Korea. The research model was proposed based on Interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior and the previous studies. The Structural equation model(SEM) was employed to fulfill the study objective. Subjects included 2,000 older adults dwelling in Chuncheon. As the results, the direct effect of the perceived burdensomeness on the suicidal ideation was statistically significant, but the direct effect of the thwarted belongingness on the suicidal ideation was not statistically significant. The perceived burdensomeness and the thwarted belongingness were found to increase to the suicidal ideation indirectly through the depression. Therefore, the results suggested that the shift of the social perspective on the elder’s dependence, the cognitive behavioral therapy and the problem solving therapy to correct the older adult’s negative cognitive distortion, and the attention to the socially isolated elderly are necessary.