کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
6231337 | 1608140 | 2015 | 7 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
- 41.5% of older New Zealanders who committed suicide left a suicide note; and Caucasians and females were more likely to do so.
- 33.3% of those who left a suicide note gave health-related reasons for their suicide and about three-quarter of them (73.3%) had genuine underlying medical conditions.
- Not all established suicide risk factors in the literature are necessarily reflected in a person's suicide note. The findings of suicide note research should be interpreted in conjunction with research using other methodologies e.g. psychological autopsies and case-control study.
- The progression from physical illness to suicidal behavior is currently not well understood and should be further researched, e.g. using qualitative methodology in older people presenting with death wish/suicidal ideation/suicide attempt and significant physical comorbidities.
ObjectivesThe aims of this study were: (i) to investigate the proportion of older people writing suicide notes in New Zealand; (ii) to compare the socio-demographic and clinical variables of older suicide note writers and non-note writers; and (iii) to perform a thematic analysis of the content of suicide notes.MethodsThe Coronial Services provided records of all suicide cases aged 65 years and over (n=225) between July 2007 and December 2012. We were able to determine whether there was a suicide note written in 212 cases. The content of 39 coroners/medical examiners' excerpts and 5 suicide notes was available for thematic analysis using a general inductive approach.Findings88 (41.5%) older people left a suicide note. Logistic regression showed that female gender (OR=2.8, 95% CI=1.4â5.7, p=0.005) and Caucasian ethnicity (OR=13.7, 95% CI=1.7â111.0, p=0.014) are significantly associated with older people writing suicide notes. 33.3% of those who left a suicide note gave health-related reasons for their suicide and a significant proportion (73.3%) of them had underlying medical conditions. Another common theme is around people leaving specific instructions and wishes.ConclusionsApart from gender and ethnicity, suicide note writers are similar to non-writers on broad socio-demographic and clinical factors. Suicide notes indicated free will in and reasons for their suicide and emotional/farewell messages to their loved ones. Many documented poor quality of life or physical illness but the progression of these factors to suicide in older people should be further researched.
Journal: Journal of Affective Disorders - Volume 185, 1 October 2015, Pages 17-23