SUICIDE IN WIDOWED PERSONS - A PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSY COMPARISON OF RECENTLY AND REMOTELY BEREAVED OLDER SUBJECTS

Using the psychological autopsy method, the authors sought to determin e whether widowed people who commit suicide more than 4 years after th eir spouse's death (n=21) can be clinically distinguished from those w ho commit suicide after a shorter period of widowhood (n = 14). The la tter had a higher rate of psychiatric treatment (P=0.018), early loss/ separation (P=0.03), and a nonsignificantly higher rate of lifetime su bstance abuse (P = 0.07). Spousal bereavement increases the likelihood of physician visits, so the recently widowed represent a population f or whom interventions may be readily implemented. Clinicians should mo nitor suicide risk in their widowed patients, especially those with ps ychiatric, substance abuse, and/or early loss/separation histories.