scholarly journals The pattern of life events preceding suicide among the elderly in rural China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiqing Mo ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
Liang Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
Life Event

Abstract Background: There is a lack of evidence of life events prior to suicide and associated with an increasing suicide risk for Chinese rural elderly. The aim of this study was to identify the pattern of life events which precede suicide among the elderly in a Chinese culture context. Methods: A total of 12 counties were randomly selected using two-stage stratified cluster sampling method. 242 suicide cases aged 60 years and older were collected from these counties from February 2014 to September 2015. 242 living controls were matched by age, gender, and location. Data in current study were collected through face-to-face interviews by psychological autopsy method. The 46-item Life Event Scale for the Elderly was used to measure the life events before suicide/interviews. Results: Approximately 99.6% of suicides and 88.4% of controls experienced at least one type of life event. The suicide elderly experienced more long-term life events than recent life events. The top three most frequent life events were being diagnosed with chronic disease, hospitalization, and being diagnosed with terminal illness for suicide elderly. More female suicides experienced the death of spouse, while more males experienced hospitalization, diagnosed with terminal illness and suffered family poverty. Experienced at least one type of life events, had unstable marital status, physical diseases and mental disorders were the probability-changing factors for suicide.Conclusions: Life events were common for the rural elderly, especially long-term life events. The experience of any type of life events is the probability-changing factor for suicide. More attention should be paid to the rural elderly who experienced more long- term life events and experienced health related life events.

scholarly journals The pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the elderly in rural China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiqing Mo ◽  
Zhenyu Ma ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Event ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Life Event

Abstract Background: There is a lack of evidence concerning the stressful life events experienced prior to suicide which may be associated with an increased suicide risk for Chinese rural elderly. The aim of this study was to identify the pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the elderly in China. Methods: A total of 12 counties were randomly selected using two-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Suicide cases aged 60 years and older (n =242) were collected from those counties from June 2014 to September 2015. Matched living controls were selected 1:1 with suicide cases by age, gender, and location. Data in the study were collected through face-to-face interviews by a psychological autopsy method. The Life Event Scale for the Elderly was used to measure the stressful life events prior to suicide/interviews. Results: Approximately 99.6% of suicide cases and 88.4% of controls experienced at least one stressful life event. The suicide group experienced more long-term stressful life events than recent stressful life events. The top three most frequent stressful life events for the suicide group were being diagnosed with chronic disease, hospitalization, and being diagnosed with terminal illness. More female suicide cases experienced the death of a spouse, while more males experienced hospitalization, diagnosis with terminal illness and family poverty. Experiencing at least one stressful life event, having unstable marital status, physical diseases and mental disorders were the factors that increased the risk of suicide.Conclusions: Stressful life events were common for the rural elderly, especially long-term stressful life events. The experience of at least one stressful life event can increase suicide risk for this population. More attention should be given to the rural elderly who experienced more long-term stressful life events and experienced health related life events.

scholarly journals The pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the elderly in rural China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiqing Mo ◽  
Zhenyu Ma ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Event ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Life Event

Abstract Background: There is a lack of evidence concerning the stressful life events experienced prior to suicide which may be associated with an increased suicide risk for Chinese rural elderly. The aim of this study was to identify the pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the elderly in China. Methods: A total of 12 counties were randomly selected using two-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Suicide cases aged 60 years and older (n =242) were collected from those counties from June 2014 to September 2015. Matched living controls were selected 1:1 with suicide cases by age, gender, and location. Data in the study were collected through face-to-face interviews by a psychological autopsy method. The Life Event Scale for the Elderly was used to measure the stressful life events prior to suicide/interviews. Results: Approximately 99.6% of suicide cases and 88.4% of controls experienced at least one stressful life event. The suicide group experienced more long-term stressful life events than recent stressful life events. The top three most frequent stressful life events for the suicide group were being diagnosed with chronic disease, hospitalization, and being diagnosed with terminal illness. More female suicide cases experienced the death of a spouse, while more males experienced hospitalization, diagnosis with terminal illness and family poverty. Experiencing at least one stressful life event, having unstable marital status, physical diseases and mental disorders were the factors that increased the risk of suicide.Conclusions: Stressful life events were common for the rural elderly, especially long-term stressful life events. The experience of at least one stressful life event can increase suicide risk for this population. More attention should be given to the rural elderly who experienced more long-term stressful life events and experienced health related life events.

scholarly journals The pattern of life events preceding suicide among the elderly in rural China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiqing Mo ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
Liang Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Rural China ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Autopsy Study ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
Life Event

Abstract Background Life events associated with an increased risk of suicide and prior to the suicide in China different from those in Western countries. But there is a lack of summary of the elderly life event patterns on Chinese suicide. The aim of this study was to identify the pattern of life events which precede suicide among the elderly in a Chinese culture context.Methods A two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used in order to select research sites and 12 counties were randomly selected to recruit cases within three provinces. A case-control psychological autopsy study was then adopted. The study population consisted of 242 suicide cases each with an age of 60 and above, and 242 age-, sex-, and location-matched community living controls. During face-to-face interviews, the information from subjects and proxy informants was obtained by standardized trained investigators. Life events were measured using a 46-item Life Event Scale for the Elderly (LESE).Results About 99.6% of suicides and 88.4% of controls resulted from the experience of at least one life event. The elderly who had committed suicide experienced more long-term life events. The top three most frequent life events were being diagnosed with chronic disease, hospitalization, and being diagnosed with terminal illness. Women more often experienced the death of spouse, while men experienced more hospitalization, and were more likely to be diagnosed with terminal illness and suffer family poverty. The risk of suicide among the elderly who experience life events was 12.8 times higher than that in people who did not experience life events. The elderly who were having unstable marital status, suffering from physical diseases and diagnosed with mental disorders, are more likely to commit suicide.Conclusions Understanding the pattern of life events which precede suicides among the elderly in rural China plays an important role in the prevention of suicide. Several different long-term life events can lead to suicidal behavior, and the effect of life events on suicide is cumulative. Being diagnosed with a serious disease may be one of the risk signals for suicide among the elderly.

scholarly journals The pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the older adults in rural China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiqing Mo ◽  
Zhenyu Ma ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Event ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Rural Older Adults

Abstract Background There is a lack of evidence concerning the stressful life events experienced prior to suicide which may be associated with an increased suicide risk among Chinese rural older adults. The aim of this study was to identify the pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the older adults in China. Methods Twelve counties were randomly selected using two-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Suicide cases aged 60 years and older (n = 242) were collected from those counties from June 2014 to September 2015. Matched living controls were selected 1:1 with suicide cases by age, gender, and location. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews by a psychological autopsy method. The Life Event Scale for the Elderly was used to measure the stressful life events prior to suicide/interviews. Results Approximately 99.6% of suicide cases and 88.4% of controls experienced at least one stressful life event. The suicide group experienced more long-term stressful life events than recent stressful life events. The top three most frequent stressful life events for the suicide group were being diagnosed with chronic disease, hospitalization, and being diagnosed with terminal illness. More female suicide cases experienced the death of a spouse, while more males experienced hospitalization, diagnosis with terminal illness and family poverty. Experiencing at least one stressful life event, an unstable marital status, physical diseases and mental disorders were shown to increase the risk of suicide. Conclusions Stressful life events were common for the rural older adults, especially long-term stressful life events. The experience of at least one stressful life event can increase suicide risk among this population. More attention should be paid to the rural older adults who experienced more long-term stressful life events and health related life events.

scholarly journals The pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the older adults in rural China: a national case-control psychological autopsy study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiqing Mo ◽  
Zhenyu Ma ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Event ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Rural Older Adults

Abstract Background: There is a lack of evidence concerning the stressful life events experienced prior to suicide which may be associated with an increased suicide risk among Chinese rural older adults. The aim of this study was to identify the pattern of stressful life events prior to suicide among the older adults in China.Methods: Twelve counties were randomly selected using two-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Suicide cases aged 60 years and older (n =242) were collected from those counties from June 2014 to September 2015. Matched living controls were selected 1:1 with suicide cases by age, gender, and location. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews by a psychological autopsy method. The Life Event Scale for the Elderly was used to measure the stressful life events prior to suicide/interviews.Results: Approximately 99.6% of suicide cases and 88.4% of controls experienced at least one stressful life event. The suicide group experienced more long-term stressful life events than recent stressful life events. The top three most frequent stressful life events for the suicide group were being diagnosed with chronic disease, hospitalization, and being diagnosed with terminal illness. More female suicide cases experienced the death of a spouse, while more males experienced hospitalization, diagnosis with terminal illness and family poverty. Experiencing at least one stressful life event, an unstable marital status, physical diseases and mental disorders were shown to increase the risk of suicide.Conclusions: Stressful life events were common for the rural older adults, especially long-term stressful life events. The experience of at least one stressful life event can increase suicide risk among this population. More attention should be paid to the rural older adults who experienced more long-term stressful life events and health related life events.

Rating reliability for life events and difficulties in the elderly

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. Wilkinson ◽  
John Downes ◽  
Owen James ◽  
Morris G. Davies ◽  
Ann D. M. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Elderly Subject ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Rater Reliability ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Subject Pool ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Pool Test

SynopsisThe inter-rater reliability of Brown's measure of ongoing difficulties (‘severity’) is shown to be comparable with that of the measure of life events (‘long-term threat’) when using data from an elderly subject pool. Test–retest reliabilities for both the life event and difficulty measures are shown to be adequate if based on ‘consensus’ ratings. The question is raised of generalizability of the concepts of ‘threat’ and ‘severity’ across the lifespan.

Reliability and validity of short Beck Hopelessness Scale in psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-531
Author(s):  
Zhenyu Ma ◽  
Qiuping He ◽  
Guanghui Nie ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Liang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Autopsy Study ◽  
Beck Hopelessness Scale

ABSTRACTBackground:Older adults represent the segment of population most exposed to the risk of suicide nearly everywhere in the world. Previous studies showed that hopelessness was an important risk factor for suicide.Aims:This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the four-item Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS-4) in psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly.Method:Two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select research sites. Using case-control psychological autopsy study, face-to-face interviews were conducted to collected information.Results:A total of 242 elderly suicide deaths and 242 matched living comparisons were investigated, including 135 males and 107 females for each group. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) of the controls were 0.682-0.713. The median score of BHS-4 among suicides was significantly higher than that among controls. The corrected correlation coefficient between items and total score were 0.184-0.723. Cronbach’s Alphas coefficient was 0.834. Only one common factor was precipitated by exploratory factor analysis and the cumulative variance contribution rates were 59.558% for suicides and 52.722% for living controls. The correlation coefficient between hopelessness and depression were 0.481 among suicide death and 0.617 among living controls.Conclusion:The information provided by the informants through psychological autopsy method had high reliability to reflect the actual situation of suicides and controls. BHS-4 has good reliability and validity among Chinese rural elderly suicides. It is suitable for psychological autopsy study among Chinese rural elderly.

scholarly journals A Case Control Study of Suicides in China with and Without Mental Disorder

Crisis ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Liang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnoses ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Control Study

Background: Chinese suicide samples have provided opportunities to study the differences between suicides with and without psychiatric diagnoses. Aims: To examine the differences between suicides with and without mental disorders. Methods: Sixty-six suicides and 66 living controls were studied with psychological autopsy interviews in rural China. Those who died by suicide with (n = 45) and without (n = 21) mental disorders were compared on demographic characteristics, suicidal behavior, social support, life events, and depressive symptoms (as measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, HAMD). Results: Suicides with and without psychiatric diagnoses had significant differences in many demographic and social factors. In comparison with suicides with psychiatric diagnoses, suicides without psychiatric diagnoses were younger, were better educated, had higher income, were more likely to kill themselves using pesticides or other poisons, were less likely to have a history of prior suicide attempt, had less long-term life events and more recent life events, and scored lower on HAMD. Conclusions: These two groups might be from two different populations. This finding has important implications for more effective and targeted suicide prevention strategies in China.

The Effect of Widowhood on the Health Status of Older Persons

1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth F. Ferraro
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Interest in the relationship between stress and the onset of illness has stimulated research on the impact of various life events on health status. This article is an analysis of the health consequences of widowhood—the life event considered to require the most readjustment. Considering both objective and subjective measures of health, a structural equation model is developed and tested with panel data of a sample of elders. The findings indicate that widowhood results in an immediate decrease in perceived health but that the long-term consequences are minimal. Also, certain categories of elders shown to be health optimistic are able to maintain their optimism after widowhood. The results are interpreted as reflecting relativity in medical perceptions and favor a transitional model for explaining the normalization of disability.

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