Leenaars Antoon A
Crisis. 2003;24(1):7-16. doi: 10.1027//0227-5910.24.1.7.
Older adults consistently have the highest rates of suicide in most societies. Despite the paucity of studies until recently, research has shown that suicides in later life are best understood as a multidimensional event. An especially neglected area of research is the psychological/psychiatric study of personality factors in the event. This paper outlines one comprehensive model of suicide and then raises the question: Is such a psychiatric/psychological theory applicable to all suicides in the elderly? To address the question, I discuss the case of Sigmund Freud; raise the topic of suicide and/or dignified death in the terminally ill; and examine suicide notes of the both terminally ill and nonterminally ill elderly. I conclude that, indeed, greater study and theory building are needed into the "suicides" of the elderly, including those who are terminally ill.
在大多数社会中，老年人的自杀率一直是最高的。尽管直到最近相关研究都很少，但研究表明，晚年自杀最好被理解为一个多维度的事件。一个特别被忽视的研究领域是对该事件中人格因素的心理/精神学研究。本文概述了一个全面的自杀模型，然后提出问题：这样一种精神/心理学理论是否适用于所有老年人自杀案例？为回答这个问题，我讨论了西格蒙德·弗洛伊德的案例；提出了绝症患者自杀和/或尊严死亡的话题；并研究了绝症和非绝症老年人的自杀遗书。我的结论是，确实需要对老年人的“自杀”，包括绝症患者的自杀，进行更多的研究和理论构建。
