Psychological Factors Among Elderly Women With Suicidal Intentions or Attempts to Suicide: A Controlled Comparison

Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure a range of psychological factors identified as important in the literature (resilience, psychological distress, feelings of hopelessness, personal and interpersonal control) among community-dwelling elderly women (N = 31) who had suicidal intentions or attempted suicide. The target group was matched to a control group on age within 5 years. The target group reported lower resilience, personal and interpersonal control but higher psychological distress and feelings of hopelessness compared to the control group. Women who had suicidal ideation or attempts in the last 12 months reported higher personal and interpersonal control. This suggests that although suicide among older women is strongly linked to psychological factors, it warrants further investigation.

KEYWORDS:

• suicide
• elderly women
• community dwelling
• psychological factors

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the women who participated and to the community services that readily provided free access to their facilities for the interviews.

Funding for this study was provided by the Frankston Minister Network and the Monash Research for an Aging Society, Monash University.