Suicide bereavement among older adults

Voulda Alicia James

doi:10.17918/00011144

Objective: Older adults experience unique challenges associated with aging, including potentially greater exposure to suicide loss (i.e., suicide bereavement). Suicide bereavement is associated with heightened distress and unmet needs. Suicide-bereaved older adults may experience greater loneliness, social isolation, health impairments, and prolonged, maladaptive grief responses compared to younger adults. Despite these risks, unmet interpersonal needs (e.g., low belonging) and grief responses among suicide-bereaved older adults have yet to be fully examined. Method: The current cross-sectional study examined self-reported bereavement, depression, relationship closeness, social connectedness, complicated grief, and thwarted belongingness among community-dwelling adults over the age of 60 who had lost a loved one by suicide in the last year (n = 142). Results: Most participants were socially connected and in middle- and upper-income tiers. Half of the participants reported clinical levels of complicated grief, but most participants also reported subclinical levels of depression and relatively mild bereavement experiences. Hypothesis testing indicated that one component of bereavement--emotional needs--was positively associated with thwarted belongingness, whereas another component of bereavement--preoccupation with thoughts of the deceased--was negatively associated with thwarted belongingness. Guilt, blame, and anger, a third component of bereavement, were unrelated to belongingness. Complicated grief did not mediate the relationship between the predeath closeness of the relationship with the deceased and thwarted belongingness. Conclusions: These results suggest that grief responses are not fully captured by depression or bereavement assessments, highlighting the need to assess complicated grief separately. Emotional distress associated with the loss of a loved one by suicide was associated with a greater lack of belongingness. Interestingly, maintaining positive thoughts and emotions toward a deceased loved one may serve as a protective mechanism against feelings of social disconnectedness. Overall, these findings suggest that bereavement experiences can either promote or thwart belongingness among older adults. Approach-oriented coping strategies may be especially important for suicide-bereaved individuals. Future research should continue to examine suicide bereavement among older adults and develop tailored postvention services to effectively address the suicide crisis. Key Words: bereavement, suicide bereavement, older adults, complicated grief, thwarted belongingness, interpersonal theory of suicide

Suicide bereavement among older adults

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Suicide bereavement among older adults

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