Why Do Older Adults Commit Suicide?

Suicide is complex and has many varied risked factors. Attempts are most common between the ages of 16-18 [2]. Females are more likely to attempt and contemplate suicide, but males are more likely to complete suicide attempts [2]. Native Americans suffer from the highest rates of suicide [2]. Besides the secular characteristics of suicide, there are some

Among American civilians, whites have historically and significantly led the way in the rates of suicides. Although leveling off after the 1990’s, the rate of white suicides has still been almost twice as much as minority groups. It has also been shown that males commit suicide significantly more than females.

Suicide attempts are highest among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) females, followed by AI/AN males, and are lowest among African American and White adolescent males. Due to shame and the value placed on not looking weak in the African American community, some youth use less taboo ways of ending their lives. Wolfgang (1959) stated that, “victim-precipitated suicide is disproportionately represented among African American males.” For example, “In studies of officer-involved shootings, there appears to be evidence of suicidal intent in between 10% and 46% of cases” (Klinger, 2001). Therefore, due to cultural beliefs within the African American community, sometimes African Americans use victim-precipitated suicide as a more conventional way of ending their lives. The American Indian/Alaska Native group has also been

Suicide was seen as a just way to die if one was faced with unendurable suffering - be it physical or emotional”. Throughout time, suicide has been viewed and dealt with in countless ways. Recently in America, the problem has grown increasingly. In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000”. A 30 percent increase with an average of 19 more male suicides than female suicides is certainly an issue for both genders, and an epidemic for men. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (n.d.), found that in 2010, 38,364 suicides were reported, with 78.9% being men. The economic recession, unemployment, and various other factors are speculated to be responsible for this incline in male suicide. As of 2010, an estimated 30,308 men ended their own lives, and it seems as if there is a great risk of that number increasing each year.

Over the past decade suicide rates have been either stagnant or have been decreasing over all of the demographics of people. One demographic of people's suicide rate, on the other hand, has risen at a substantial rate. Scientists and researchers have just started studying this trend and have yet to draw one specific reason on why middle aged white males suicide rates are climbing. The suicide rate for this demographic of people has just surpassed the deaths by automobile accidents. This recent epidemic has got many researchers and scientists asking the question of “why?”.

Although,older adults tend to be more satisfied with their lives more than younger people that is not always the case .For those who are suffering from mental health issues, there is a limited supply and improper access to psychiatric treatment which leaves older adults underdiagnosed and undertreated.

Physicians and healthcare professionals play a big percentage in their role of suicide. Seventy percent of individuals who had followed through with suicide had visited their doctor within one month ( Rosston. K,2012, p.2)! This percentage is one of the most astounding numbers researched. Health care

In 2012 and 2013, approximately thirteen people per 100,000 annually attempt to commit suicide, whether this leads to hospitalizations or completed suicides; this makes suicide one of the leading causes of death in North Carolina. Members of the community identified as having the highest suicide attempts and deaths are between the ages 10-24 and 45-64 (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 2015). Also, out of these attempts and deaths, white men compose approximately seventy percent of those numbers across America (Amer. Foundation for Suicide Preven. 2015; NC Dept. of Health and Human Services 2012, 2013); this rate disproportionately places white men at a higher risk within their gender and race for suicide risk. However, this is not to say that minorities or women are at a lower risk, but they do have a much lower suicide rate than white men. But, most suicide victims in North Carolina from 2009 to 2011 were male, non-Hispanic, and between the ages of 25 – 64 (2013).

Suicide is not something someone can catch, it does not define as a disease. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that in 2011, more than 9,000 older adults died by suicide.” (Suicide and Depression, Page 23). A lot of people have been committing suicide, and therapists can lesson that number. Suicide comes from traumatic events in one's lives that their own mind doesn't know how to deal with. As Suicide and Depression in Older Adults: Greater Awareness can Prevent Tragedy states, “To the public and even to close friends, he appeared to be happy and upbeat, and he was financially stable- all factors that seemed to shape a life worth living for. Yet on August 11th 2014 Williams, age 63, took his own life” (Suicide and Depression, Page 23). A guy like Robin William took his own life. He was always laughing and had money, and always having a good time. But his audience couldn't see what was actually going on. He was depressed and didn't know how to continue on. A loved one could be suffering from situations that their family members have no idea about. That is why it is important to look for the signs of depression and suicide. If a family member is disgusting themselves, and they might have a change in their mood, make sure to offer help. If us as humans can get people to go to a therapist, us as humans can help a wide amount of people. “The existential approach require the therapist to seek to tune into the client's

Attention Getter: Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. surpassed by accidents and homicide. (According to Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention)

There is a shortage of registered psychiatric nurses willingly to the elderly patients with mental illness. Unfortunately, the shortage is enlarging due to increasing in retirement rate and low in recruitment and application rate (Fisher, 2011) (Browne et al., 2013). There are causes for the gap of aged mental health nurses compare to another area of nursing. If the shortages keep on growing, elderly mental illness patients will not have enough support. According to Australian Beuro of Statistic on the Causes of Death (2012), elderly aged above seventy-five had the higest rate of suicide comepare to other age-group. Without the support required, the amount of elderly committing suicide will increase. This further empharsis the importance of having enough mental health nurses to support elderly patients and reduce the rate of death caused by

Suicide rates have skyrocketed in the last few years due in part to the lack of access to mental healthcare caused by the stigma that surrounds seeking treatment. An estimated 15% of people diagnosed with depression and approximately 20% of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder take their own life according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHA) fact sheet. While these numbers are shocking, the statistics do not include the many suicide attempts among those with a mental illness or those that go unreported. SAMHA also claims that one-third of the 15.7 million adults who reported having a major depressive episode in the

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “older adults are at an increased risk of depression, because depression is more common in people who have other illnesses, and 80% of older adults have a chronic condition” (CDC, 2017). The CDC also mentions that older adults are often misdiagnosed or undertreated, because the symptoms may be thought to be the cause of something else, or the patient doesn’t understand that treatment would be beneficial and do not seek help.

According to the American Psychiatric Association “Studies show that seniors are at greater risk of some mental disorders and their complications than younger people, and many of these illnesses can be accurately diagnosed and treated.”(American Psychiatric Association, 2015, para. 1). Although many of the illnesses can be treated, many go undiagnosed due to the fact that many individuals do not understand mental illnesses and some seniors are reluctant to seek psychiatric care due to being ashamed or believing that their symptoms are a part of aging that everyone experiences. It is not just the seniors and their family or friends that fail to recognize symptoms of mental illness, even their doctors may mistake a symptom of mental illness for another illness or problem associated with older adults.

Mental health issues such depression, anxiety is a health burden that negatively affects many people’s quality of life, especially older adults. In this Literature review we will use the terms older adults, elderly, baby boomer when referring to people ages 65 and older. “The rate of suicide in those aged 65 years and over has been increasing over the past three decades in most industrialized countries, with marked increases in both attempted suicides and death by suicide in the late 1980s” (Deuter, 2016). Older adults in the United States and many countries around the world die by suicide at elevated rates compared with younger adults (Conwell, and Van Orden, 2016). In addition to the age different, suicide seem to affect man and women differently with the baby boomer population. Men die more from suicide compare to women, even though females suicide attempt rate is higher (Heisel, 2006). Deuter reports that, in 2013, 7215 people aged 65 years and over died by suicide the USA, which accounts for 17.5% of the national total of suicide deaths (2016). The elevation of suicide in the elder is not only limited to the United States. According to Conwell (2013), the number of adults 65 year and older who died in the US is 6000 and 20,000 died worldwide, in 2010. The elderly population have become increasing prone to committing suicide and considered to be a population at risk. We will focus on the cause, challenges/controversy, and solutions that were used to address the issue of