What is it about?
Suicidal Ideation was assessed overtime in a general population sample and its potential association to several psychosocial factors, such as social support or feelings of loneliness, was analyzed. Other relevant factors, e.g. depression, were also took into account and included as control variables. This study showed a wider picture of suicidal ideation related factors in the general population compared to previous research.
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Why is it important?
Following the age comparisons, this study showed that factors associated to suicidal ideation are different in adults and in elderly people. Our research highlighted an important point, that is feelings of loneliness are prospectively associated to suicidal ideation in the elderly and this is not the case for social support (previous studies underlined the importance of social support but without including personal feeling of loneliness). Another important point showed here is that lower positive affect is prospectively related to suicidal Ideation in adults.
Perspectives
When dealing with an elderly person, an health care professional should consider the personal feelings of loneliness in order to assess a potential suicide risk. Social Support has shown not to be related to suicidal Ideation, once other relevant variables were considered.
Marco Bennardi
Universitat Luzern
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Longitudinal Relationships Between Positive Affect, Loneliness, and Suicide Ideation: Age-Specific Factors in a General Population, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, December 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12424.
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