Centre for Policy on Ageing



Sex differences in elderly suicide rates — some predictive factors
Author(s)	S Coren, P L Hewitt
Journal title	Aging & Mental Health, vol 3, no 2, May 1999
Pages	pp 112-118
Source	http://www.tandfonline.com
Keywords	Suicide ; Older men ; Older women ; Social characteristics [elderly] ; Correlation ; United States of America.
Annotation	In the US, the rate of suicide among those aged 65 and over is higher than for any other age group. There is a marked sex difference, with men accounting for 86% of suicides in older people. Using a sample consisting of every reported suicide death of older people between 1986 and 1990 (n=31,541), it was found that a different pattern of variables was predictive of suicide rates for men and women. For older men, factors associated with financial and social status were the best predictors of suicide. For women, the predictors were indices of social and environmental stability and stress. These findings may be explained by psychological theories which speak of sex differences in the personality domains known as agency and communion. Similar considerations may help to explain why the suicide rate for men tends to increase in old age, while that for women remains relatively constant. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-990715225 A
Classmark	EV: BC: BD: F: 49: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.