Are religiousness and death attitudes associated with the wish to die in older people?

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Bonnewyn ◽  
Ajit Shah ◽  
Ronny Bruffaerts ◽  
Koen Demyttenaere
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Somatic Symptoms ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Death Attitudes ◽  
Clinical Patient ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Older Inpatients ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTBackground:A wish to die is common in older persons and is associated with increased mortality. Several risk factors have been identified, but the association between religiousness and a wish to die in older adults has been underexplored, and the association between death attitudes and the presence of a wish to die has not been investigated yet. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between religiousness and death attitudes on the one hand and wish to die on the other hand, adjusting for clinical factors such as the presence of depression or somatic disorder.Methods:The sample comprised 113 older inpatients (from a psychiatric and somatic ward) with a mean age of 74 years. Psychiatric diagnoses were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders, and logistic regression analyses estimated the unique contribution of religiousness and death attitudes to the wish to die, controlling for socio-demographic variables, depressive disorder, and somatic symptoms.Results:Both religiousness and death attitudes were associated with a wish to die in univariate models. Adding these variables in a multivariate logistic hierarchical model, death attitudes remained significant predictors but religiousness did not; 55% of the pseudovariance of the wish to die was explained by these variables, with an effective size of 0.89. Major depressive episode, somatic symptoms, Fear of Death, and Escape Acceptance were the most important predictors of the wish to die.Conclusions:This study suggests that how older adults perceive death partly determines whether they have a wish to die. There may be a clinical, patient-oriented benefit in discussing with older patients about how they perceive death, as this can play a role in the early detection (and prevention) of death or suicide ideation and associated behaviors in older adults.

scholarly journals Depression and Suicidal Ideation among Older Adults of Kashmir

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabnum Ara ◽  
Rakshanda Ahad
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Elderly Males ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The present study was undertaken to map the ground trends of depression and suicidal ideation among elderly Kashmiris in association with connected socio-demographic variables and also to find the relationship of depression with suicidal ideation. The sample consisted of 184 older adults (102 elderly males & 82 elderly females) taken from different districts of Kashmir. The age of the sample group ranged from 58-76 years with mean age of 67 years. Purposive sampling technique was used for research purpose. Aaron Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-II 1996) and Beck & Steer’s Suicide Ideation scale (BSSI 1991) was used. T-test was used to test the significance of difference in depression and suicidal ideation between various groups and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation was used to determine the relationship between depression and suicidal ideation. The findings of the present study revealed that there is no significant mean difference in the depression level of older adults with respect to various socio-demographic variables. Further, the findings of the present study reveal that there is significant mean difference in the suicidal ideation of educated and uneducated elderly as is true for rural and urban older adults. However, no significant mean difference was found in suicidal ideation of male & female older adults and also no significant mean difference was found in the suicidal ideation of those elderly whose spouse are alive and those who are widowed. Results further reveal that depression has significant positive correlation with suicidal ideation indicating that depression acts as risk factor for suicidal ideation.

Daily hassles, physical illness, and sleep problems in older adults with wishes to die

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Lapierre ◽  
Richard Boyer ◽  
Sophie Desjardins ◽  
Micheline Dubé ◽  
Dominique Lorrain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Physical Illness ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Daily Hassles ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Desire For Death

ABSTRACTBackground: Factors associated with the wish to die should be investigated in order to gain more opportunities for preventive interventions targeting older adults at risk for suicide. The goal of the research was to study the prevalence and associated factors of wishes to die in older adults living in the community using the data from a survey on the prevalence of mental disorders in this population.Methods: With a representative sample of community living older adults aged 65 years and over (N = 2777), we compared individuals with the wish to die (n = 163) to those without the wish to die on the basis of the presence and severity of daily hassles, physical illness, and sleep quality.Results: Logistic regression revealed that when depression and sociodemographic variables were held constant, self-rated physical health, number of chronic illnesses, number and intensity of daily hassles, as well as sleep problems were significantly associated with the wish to die in older adults. Painful illnesses and daytime dysfunction due to sleep problems were also associated factors with the wish to die.Conclusion: Since desire for death is the first step into the suicidal process, health professionals should seriously consider the important and unique contribution of these variables in order to have more opportunities for detection and intervention.

Hopelessness and suicidal feelings among the community dwelling elderly in Dublin

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 124-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kirby ◽  
Irene Bruce ◽  
Davis Coakley ◽  
Alicja Radic ◽  
Brian A Lawlor
Keyword(s):  
Mental State ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Worth Living ◽  
Gender Distribution ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
The One ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractObjective: The aim of this study was to determine the one-month frequency of hopelessness and suicidal feelings in a community dwelling elderly sample in Dublin.Method: A total of 891 individuals of 65 years and over, without a dementia, were interviewed using the Geriatric Mental State (GMS)-AGECAT system. Items from the GMS relating to reports of hopelessness and suicidal feelings over the previous month were identified and the relationship of these items to gender and age was studied.Result: Serious suicidal feelings were rare with 0.2% of the sample expressing a pervasive wish to die, but less intense feelings were more common with 15.5% reporting that life was not worth living. Hopelessness and suicidal feelings were present with similar gender frequencies unlike other studies which have demonstrated a higher frequency among females. Any feeling of hopelessness or suicidality was present in 18.4% of those aged 65-74 years (‘young elderly’) compared with 14.8% of those over 75 years (‘old elderly’). Depressed elderly who reported hopelessness or suicidal feelings were not more likely to be taking antidepressants than the depressives without such feelings.Conclusion: Cultural factors may explain the pattern of suicidal feelings reported in our sample, with the more intense feelings being rare, and may influence the gender distribution. Hopelessness and suicidality is not more common in the ‘old elderly’ than in the ‘young elderly’ and should not be regarded as an integral part of ageing. The small number of elderly depressives with feelings of hopelessness or suicidality wh o are being treated with antidepressants is a cause for concern.

C. S. Lewis’s Medieval Model and Literary Views

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-83
Author(s):  
Yuxiao Su
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
The Other ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Renaissance Literature ◽  
Literary Critic ◽  
Renaissance Period ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Medieval Model

This paper attempts to first give an introduction and appraisal of the unique contribution made by the English literary critic C. S. Lewis, towards a systematic presentation of the “Medieval Model”, the dominant cultural background that underlies most of the literary works in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. Then the paper analyses the relationship between the major features of the Medieval Model and four aspects of Lewis’s literary views, especially in reading and interpreting: namely, receptive reading, “built-in significance” of the text, respect for textual authorities, and seeking accord rather than discord in reading and interpreting. By doing so the paper reveals, on the one hand, how Lewis’s Model as described in The Discarded Image serves as an indispensable map for readers of Medieval and Renaissance literature; and on the other hand, how Lewis’s literary stand is deeply informed and inspired by this Model, in which he takes great delight.

The rationality of legal argumentation

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sol Azuelos-Atias
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Legal Argumentation ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Growth Of Knowledge ◽  
Israeli Supreme Court ◽  
The One ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

According to Dascal (1998), controversy is characterised by a special kind of rationality, one result thereof being the unique contribution of this kind of polemics to the growth of knowledge. This, in turn, implies that complete cooperation may be detrimental for the efficiency of communication. In this article I discuss the kind of rationality that characterises controversy in legal discourse, in order to provide additional support to Dascal’s thesis about the uniqueness of the rationality of this kind of polemic exchange. I present empirical evidence supporting the conclusion that we may characterise the rationality inherent in controversy by its tolerance to inconsistency; I elucidate the tolerance to inconsistency of the rationality of legal polemic by showing that the norms recommended by the Israeli Supreme Court in the domain of conjugal relationships between men and women verge on inconsistency: On the one hand, the legal system defends the right of women over their bodies, including a woman’s right to establish a romantic relationship, regardless of the nature of the relationship she has with other men; on the other hand, the court acknowledges a man’s uncontrolled tendency to impose monogamous behaviour on his female partner.

Factors Related to Attitudes Toward Death among American and Chinese Older Adults

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Hui-Mei Huang Lin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Chinese Older Adults ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Death Attitudes ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Attitudes Toward Death ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines the relationship between five dimensions of attitude toward death (fear of death, death avoidance, neutral acceptance of death, approach acceptance of death, and escape acceptance of death) and three selected personal factors (spirituality, emotional support, and religiosity) among American and Chinese older adults. A total of 178 older adults consisting of 91 Americans living in Columbus, Ohio, and surrounding suburban areas, and 87 Chinese living in Taipei, Taiwan, participated in this study. Among Americans, the results reveal that spirituality influences both fear and avoidance of death attitudes, and that spirituality and religiosity contribute to both approach acceptance and escape acceptance of death attitudes. Among Chinese, spirituality influences fear of death attitudes and religiosity influences approach acceptance of death attitudes. For both American and Chinese subjects, neutral acceptance death attitude is not influenced by any selected personal factors and emotional support fails to demonstrate a significant relationship with any death attitude. American and Chinese older adults derive their spirituality in different ways, and their respective religious faiths contribute differently to their attitudes toward death. However, this study clearly indicates that, despite cultural differences, both populations demonstrate that spirituality factor influences the negative dimensions of death attitudes (fear of death and avoidance of death) and the religiosity factor influences the positive dimension of death attitude (acceptance of death).

Poor Acceptance of the Past is Related to Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults

GeroPsych ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 246-251
Author(s):  
Gozde Cetinkol ◽  
Gulbahar Bastug ◽  
E. Tugba Ozel Kizil
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Geriatric Depression ◽  
Ego Integrity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Depressed Group ◽  
Total Death ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Depression in older adults can be explained by Erikson’s theory on the conflict of ego integrity versus hopelessness. The study investigated the relationship between past acceptance, hopelessness, death anxiety, and depressive symptoms in 100 older (≥50 years) adults. The total Beck Hopelessness (BHS), Geriatric Depression (GDS), and Accepting the Past (ACPAST) subscale scores of the depressed group were higher, while the total Death Anxiety (DAS) and Reminiscing the Past (REM) subscale scores of both groups were similar. A regression analysis revealed that the BHS, DAS, and ACPAST predicted the GDS. Past acceptance seems to be important for ego integrity in older adults.

Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence Predict Suicide Ideation Among Alaskan Undergraduates

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. DeCou ◽  
Monica C. Skewes
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Students At Risk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems

Abstract. Background: Previous research has demonstrated an association between alcohol-related problems and suicidal ideation (SI). Aims: The present study evaluated, simultaneously, alcohol consequences and symptoms of alcohol dependence as predictors of SI after adjusting for depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption. Method: A sample of 298 Alaskan undergraduates completed survey measures, including the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire, the Short Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory – II. The association between alcohol problems and SI status was evaluated using sequential logistic regression. Results: Symptoms of alcohol dependence (OR = 1.88, p < .05), but not alcohol-related consequences (OR = 1.01, p = .95), emerged as an independent predictor of SI status above and beyond depressive symptoms (OR = 2.39, p < .001) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.08, p = .39). Conclusion: Alcohol dependence symptoms represented a unique risk for SI relative to alcohol-related consequences and alcohol consumption. Future research should examine the causal mechanism behind the relationship between alcohol dependence and suicidality among university students. Assessing the presence of dependence symptoms may improve the accuracy of identifying students at risk of SI.

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