Does Resilience Predict Suicidality? A Lifespan Analysis

Abstract

In this article, we examine the association between resilience and suicidality across the lifespan. Participants (n = 7485) from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project, a population sample from Canberra and Queanbeyan, Australia, were stratified into three age cohorts (20–24, 40–44, 60–64 years of age). Binary Logistic regression explored the association between resilience and suicidality. Across age cohorts, low resilience was associated with an increased risk for suicidality. However, this effect was subsequently made redundant in models that fully adjusted for other risk factors for suicidality among young and old adults. Resilience is associated with suicidality across the lifespan, but only those in midlife continued to report increased likelihood of suicidality in fully-adjusted models.

Keywords:

• age differences
• life span
• resilience
• suicidality

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to Andrew Mackinnon, Tony Jorm, Helen Christensen, Peter Butterworth, Simon Easteal, Trish Jacomb, Karen Maxwell, and the PATH interviewers.

Notes

²Existence of several medical conditions (diabetes, arthritis, cancer or heart trouble).

³Measured using the SF12 PCS measure.

*p < 0.001.