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Differences in suicide behaviour in the elderly: a study in two provinces of Northern Italy
- Authors:
- ZEPPEGNO P., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(8), August 2005, pp.769-775.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study investigates the suicide phenomenon among older people (people aged 65 and over) in the Italian provinces of Novara and Verbania, in the time span between January 1990 and December 2000, in order to evaluate if the characteristics of the suicide behaviour correlate to the place of living with particular attention to the psychosocial factors. The information was collected from the Republic Procuration of the two provinces. Frequencies and contingency tables were evaluated to compare the data found in the two provinces. Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMRs) with their confidential intervals (95% confidence intervals) were calculated in comparison with the average suicide rates in North West Italy in the same period and in the same age group. One hundred and eighty-four suicides were committed from the elderly, with an average rate of 14.07 per 100,000 inhabitants in Novara and 25.56 in Verbania. The most common methods used to commit suicide were hanging and jumping from height. The factors chiefly related to suicide were mental disease, followed by organic illness. The analysis of SMRs point out that the incidence of suicide in the province of Verbania is higher than in North West Italy while in Novara it is lower. The evaluation of the suicide risk in the elderly in a diagnostic and preventive framework must take into consideration the psychosocial factors that vary with the place of living.
Suicidal behaviour in nursing homes: a survey in a region of north-east Italy
- Authors:
- SCOCCO Paolo, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(4), April 2006, pp.307-311.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The complete list of Nursing Homes was provided by the Regional Department of Health for the Veneto region, in the North-East of Italy. Structured interviews were completed with nursing home managers, inquiring about nursing home, staff and management characteristics, mental health care available and the number of completed and attempted suicides (AS) in 2001 made by residents older than 65 years, occurring either inside or outside nursing homes. All facilities which reported suicidal events were asked additional information. In the study period, five completed suicides and eight AS were reported. All but one suicides and one AS had a history of mental disorders. Seven subjects had been living in a nursing home for less than one year. There were no significant differences in the frequency of suicidal events between the facilities which employed or did not employ mental health workers. The suicide rate found in this facility sample is much higher than the rate reported by the Italian National Statistic Institute for the over-65-year-old population of the Veneto Region in 2001, and is similar to the rate reported in a previous study conducted in another country. It is concluded that in Veneto nursing homes behavioural control of residents, lack of access to a variety of means used for suicidal purposes and medical supervision does not seem to have protected the nursing home population from suicidal risks.
Personality and suicidal ideation in the elderly: factorial invariance and latent means structures across age
- Authors:
- ILICETO Paolo, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 18(6), 2014, pp.792-800.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: Suicide among the elderly is a dramatic global health problem. Although fatal attempts are frequent in the elderly, research indicated that they rarely present long-term elaboration of suicidal ideation and communicate their intents. Consequently, risk factor detection and assessment are salient. Although evidence on the association between personality and suicidal ideation in young adults is accumulating, little is known about its relevance in the elderly. The purpose of the present study was to analyse the components of a measurement model that are invariant across young adults and older adults and then investigate the relations among dimensions of personality and suicide risk. The authors postulated a specific relation pattern a priori and tested the hypotheses statistically in order to examine the models for equivalency of the factorial measurement. Method: 316 young adults and 339 older adults, who were administered self-report questionnaires to assess depression, hopelessness, alternative five-factor model of personality, and self–other perception were investigated. Results: Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, yielding a final model with excellent fit to the data. This model showed a similar pattern of associations between suicidal ideation and personality across both groups. Conclusions: Although the elderly are exposed to specific life stressors associated with suicidal ideation, the findings suggest that the elderly and young adults may be similar on personality and psychopathology variables predicting suicidal ideation than previously hypothesized. Implications are provided for enhanced assessment and intervention of the elderly high in neuroticism, depression, hopelessness, and with negative self–other perception. (Edited publisher abstract)
Poor mental and physical health differentially contributes to disability in hospitalized geriatric patients of different ages
- Authors:
- MARENGONI Alessandra, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(1), January 2004, pp.27-34.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article seeks to evaluate the relationship between depressive symptoms, cognition and somatic diseases on functional status of geriatric patients at hospital discharge. Patients 65+ years consecutively admitted to the acute care geriatric ward of the Internal Medicine Department I, Civil Hospital of Brescia, Italy, from February 1998 to December 2000 (n = 830) were examined. Functional disability was defined as need of physical assistance in at least one of the basic Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The Greenfield Index of Disease Severity (IDS) and the Geriatric Index of Comorbidity (GIC) were used to measure number and severity of diseases. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) assessed cognitive status and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) measured depressive symptoms. Prevalence of functional disability at discharge was 29.3% in the younger age group (65-74 years) and 55.2% in the older age group (75+ years). Using logistic regression models, older age, poorer cognitive status, and depressive symptoms were independently associated with functional disability in the younger and older age group, respectively. Additionally cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms showed an additive association with disability, especially in younger patients, while comorbidity was correlated with functional status only in the oldest old, in particular among those who were cognitively impaired. Functional disability after acute hospitalization is highly prevalent in geriatric patients. Depressive symptoms, comorbidity, and cognitive impairment often coexist, interact and are differentially associated with function depending on age. Considering that depressive symptoms are a modifiable problem, their detection in hospital settings may help clinicians in targeting subjects at high risk of functional disability.
Psychological abuse among older persons in Europe: a cross-sectional study
- Authors:
- MACASSA Gloria, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research, 5(1), 2013, pp.16-34.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
There is evidence to suggest that the rate of elder abuse in all its forms is growing. However, because of the difficulty of measuring it, psychological abuse may be underestimated. This cross sectional study used data collected in 2009 as part of the survey “Elder abuse: a multinational prevalence survey, ABUEL”. The participants were 4,467 randomly selected persons aged 60-84 years (2,559 women, 57.3 per cent) from seven EU countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Sweden). Participants answered a structured questionnaire either face-to-face or a mix of interview/self-response. The overall prevalence of psychological abuse was 29.7 per cent in Sweden, 27.1 per cent in Germany; 24.6 per cent in Lithuania and 21.9 per cent in Portugal. The lowest prevalence was reported in Greece, Spain and Italy with 13.2 per cent, 11.5 per cent and 10.4 per cent, respectively. Similar tendencies were observed concerning minor/severe abuse. The Northern countries (Germany, Lithuania, Sweden) compared to Southern countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain) reported a higher mean prevalence of minor/severe abuse (26.3 per cent/11.5 per cent and 12.9 per cent/5.9 per cent, respectively). Most perpetrators (71.2 per cent) were spouses/partners and other relatives (e.g. children). The analyses indicate that being from Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain was associated with a lower risk of psychological abuse. Low social support, living in rented housing, alcohol use, frequent health care use, and high scores in anxiety and somatic complaints were associated with increased risk of psychological abuse.
European social services
- Editor:
- MUNDAY Brian
- Publisher:
- University of Kent. European Institute of Social Services
- Publication year:
- 1993
- Pagination:
- 401p.
- Place of publication:
- Canterbury
Detailed account of social services in the twelve member states of the European Community. Contains sections on: organisation, responsibility and finance for social services; preventative services; children and families; elderly people; people with disabilities; addictions; illnesses; AIDS/HIV; socially excluded people; young people; services for migrants; names and addresses of major public and private social services agencies.