The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses

The highest suicide rates are among elderly men. The aim of the present study is to extend previous findings by focusing on meaning in life as a protective factor for suicidal ideation among elderly men. Self-report measures were administered to 170 elderly men aged 65 and over in community. Meaning...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lutzman, Mira, Sommerfeld, Eliane
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer US 2021
Materias:
Article
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8486633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34629829
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02332-z
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author Lutzman, Mira
Sommerfeld, Eliane
author_facet Lutzman, Mira
Sommerfeld, Eliane
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description The highest suicide rates are among elderly men. The aim of the present study is to extend previous findings by focusing on meaning in life as a protective factor for suicidal ideation among elderly men. Self-report measures were administered to 170 elderly men aged 65 and over in community. Meaning in life and physical illness predicted suicidal ideation among elderly men. Physical illness moderated the association between meaning in life and suicidal ideation. In the young-old group (ages 65–74), meaning in life predicted suicidal ideation among those who reported higher rates of physical illness. This moderation effect was not found among the older group (aged 75 years and older). The findings of this study highlight the importance of age-differences in studying suicidal ideation among elderly men. Our findings emphasize the importance of cultivating and maintaining meaning in life when coping with chronic illnesses and point at meaning in life as a goal in therapeutic interventions designed to reduce suicidal ideation among elderly.
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spelling pubmed-84866332021-10-04 The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses Lutzman, Mira Sommerfeld, Eliane Curr Psychol Article The highest suicide rates are among elderly men. The aim of the present study is to extend previous findings by focusing on meaning in life as a protective factor for suicidal ideation among elderly men. Self-report measures were administered to 170 elderly men aged 65 and over in community. Meaning in life and physical illness predicted suicidal ideation among elderly men. Physical illness moderated the association between meaning in life and suicidal ideation. In the young-old group (ages 65–74), meaning in life predicted suicidal ideation among those who reported higher rates of physical illness. This moderation effect was not found among the older group (aged 75 years and older). The findings of this study highlight the importance of age-differences in studying suicidal ideation among elderly men. Our findings emphasize the importance of cultivating and maintaining meaning in life when coping with chronic illnesses and point at meaning in life as a goal in therapeutic interventions designed to reduce suicidal ideation among elderly. Springer US 2021-10-02 2023 /pmc/articles/PMC8486633/ /pubmed/34629829 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02332-z Text en © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021 This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.
spellingShingle Article
Lutzman, Mira
Sommerfeld, Eliane
The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses
title The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses
title_full The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses
title_fullStr The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses
title_full_unstemmed The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses
title_short The role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses
title_sort role of meaning in life as a protective factor in suicidal ideation among elderly men with physical illnesses
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8486633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34629829
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02332-z
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