Availability of knowledgeable informants for a psychological autopsy study of suicides committed by elderly people. J Am Geriatr Soc 1990 Nov;38(11):1169-75
Date
11/01/1990Pubmed ID
2246452DOI
10.1111/j.1532-5415.1990.tb01494.xScopus ID
2-s2.0-0025643377 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 34 CitationsAbstract
Psychological autopsy methodology has not been applied in studies of elderly suicides, despite the fact that the elderly are associated with a higher rate of suicide than any other age group. One school of thought argues that older adults who die by suicide are socially isolated and/or estranged for a long period of time before death, so that knowledgeable informants are difficult or impossible to obtain. In the present retrospective study we examine the number and availability of knowledgeable informants for 145 older people who committed suicide. We believe that the ability to access several motivated informants per case is essential to any psychological autopsy study by modern standards. The stereotype of the "average expectable" elderly suicide victim as socially isolated and living alone or in an institutional setting was not supported by our findings; an unexpectedly high percentage of subjects were married at the time of their death. There was at least one knowledgeable informant in 90% of cases and two or more in almost 50%. In 46%, the subject had expressed despondency over illness. In a prospective study involving interviews with informants for eight subjects, all eight had at least two knowledgeable and willing informants. Two cases of the eight are presented to illustrate the role of delirium and an ominous diagnosis (cancer) as causes of suicide. We conclude that it is feasible to do a psychological autopsy study of elderly suicides.
Author List
Younger SC, Clark DC, Oehmig-Lindroth R, Stein RJAuthor
David C. Clark PhD Assistant Dean, Professor in the Research Office department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedCoroners and Medical Examiners
Feasibility Studies
Humans
Interview, Psychological
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies
Suicide
