A Phenomenological Study of Suicide Attempts in Elders

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning and essence of suicide for elderly people who had previously attempted suicide as an older person. Methods: Giorgi's descriptive phenomenology was used for analysis. The researchers carried out in-depth interviews, recordings and memos individually with four elders. The elders were individuals who had attempted suicide sometime in the past 5 yr. They were interviewed from 5 to 10 times using open-ended questions and a semi-structural format. Demographic data were also collected. Results: The meaning of suicide before a suicide attempt in older people had four core components: conflict with family, powerlessness and despair in their life with a drop in self-esteem, using internal and external resources to resolve their troubles and awareness of imminent crisis. Conclusion: These results of this study will increase understanding of suicide in older people by defining their subjective experience of suicide attempts and applying grounded data in the development of programs that provide concrete intervention strategies to prevent suicide in elderly people.

Suicide in older people: Revisioning new approaches

“…However, few studies have investigated the suicidal process by conducting qualitative interviews with survivors of suicide attempts (Lakeman & Fitzgerald 2008;Rivlin et al 2013). Still, fewer studies have been conducted with older people in this way (Crocker et al 2006;Im & Kim 2011;Sun & Long 2013). Crocker et al (2006) explored older people's understandings of the pathway to and from a suicide attempt, while Im and Kim (2011) investigated the meanings attributed by older people to experiences prior to their suicide attempt.…”

“…Still, fewer studies have been conducted with older people in this way (Crocker et al 2006;Im & Kim 2011;Sun & Long 2013). Crocker et al (2006) explored older people's understandings of the pathway to and from a suicide attempt, while Im and Kim (2011) investigated the meanings attributed by older people to experiences prior to their suicide attempt. In both studies, the researchers adopted in-depth, semistructured individual interviews.…”

Depression and suicidal ideation in community-dwelling older adults in Korea

“…Our results also suggested that demographic characteristics were not predictors of depression or suicide. Instead, we should pay more attention to understanding culture and contexts surrounding depression and suicidal ideation, such as conflicts with family, powerlessness, despair, and views on life's meaning (Im and Kim, 2012).…”

Experience of College Students on Suicide Attempts

“…자살시도와 관련된 질적 연구는 여성의 자살시도 경험 [11], 노인의 자살시도 전 경험 [12]과 극복 경험 [13], 자살 재시도자의 경험 [14]에 대한 연구가 되어 있을 뿐이며, 정신장애인 [15] …”