Pr. Duberstein et al., Personality traits and suicidal behavior and ideation in depressed inpatients 50 years of age and older, J GERONT B, 55(1), 2000, pp. P18-P26
Citations number
66
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Completed suicide may be the most preventable lethal complication of depres
sive disorders in older adults. Identification of risk factors for suicidal
behavior has therefore become a major public health priority. Using data c
ollected on 81 depressed patients 50 years of age and older, we report anal
yses designed to determine the associations between the personality traits
that constitute the Five Factor Model of personality and measures of suicid
al behavior and ideation. We hypothesized that low Extraversion would be as
sociated with a lifetime history of attempted suicide, and high Neuroticism
would be associated with suicidal Ideation. Results were generally consist
ent with the hypotheses. We also observed a relationship between Openness t
o Experience and suicidal ideation. These findings suggest that longstandin
g patterns of behaving, thinking, and feeling contribute to suicidal behavi
or and thoughts in older adults and highlight the need to consider personal
ity traits in crafting and targeting prevention strategies.