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Suicide and Older Adults: The Role of Risk and Protective Factors

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Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention

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Abstract

Death by suicide is a worldwide public health concern, a clinical crisis for mental health personnel, and one of the major causes of death in the United States. The risk for suicide is often more difficult for clinicians to detect in older adults than in younger adults. While relatively little attention is spent on educating clinicians about suicide in older adults (65 years old and over), it is a significant problem that warrants increased and ongoing attention from educators, healthcare providers, researchers, and society at large. The risk factors and the expression of suicidality are different for older adults when compared to their middle-aged counterparts. When evaluating for suicide risk, it is important to consider age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, occupation, and socioeconomic status. However, older adults have additional risk factors that may be missed such as changes in health status, loss of a spouse, social isolation, and lack of purpose or reasons for living. Older adults from different ethnic backgrounds may also have different risk and protective factors based on their experiences, religious beliefs, and cultural customs. Protective factors also vary for each subgroup of the population. Identification of older adults at risk and their protective factors is important for early intervention and treatment. This chapter will provide a description of the complex nature of suicide and aging and elaborate on the risk and protective factors. The development and implementation of evidence-informed strategies that are aimed at suicide prevention can promote a reduction in the epidemic of late-life suicide.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Juliet Sobering & Abbie J. Brady

  2. Clinical Psychology, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Lisa M. Brown

  3. Risk and Resilience Research Lab, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Lisa M. Brown

Authors
  1. Juliet Sobering
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  2. Abbie J. Brady
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  3. Lisa M. Brown
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juliet Sobering .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Maurizio Pompili

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Sobering, J., Brady, A.J., Brown, L.M. (2022). Suicide and Older Adults: The Role of Risk and Protective Factors. In: Pompili, M. (eds) Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42003-1_24

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