Kerkhof A, de Leo D
Department of Clinical Health, University of Leiden, The Netherlands.
Crisis. 1991 Sep;12(2):81-7.
Suicide in the elderly still remains a neglected topic. Our knowledge of basic characteristics of suicide in late life is still very limited. Physical disease, bereavement, isolation, and dependency in elderly people create the aura of rationality frequently and unrightfully attached to suicide in the elderly. Rationality may contribute to a final decision to end one's life. But rationality may also be a very misleading concept for a proper explanation of suicidal behavior. The discussion of the rationality of suicide in late life deserves good and thorough research. A political debate on this matter obscures the true reasons elderly have for committing suicide. Anxiety, fears, or threats of losing core aspects of one's identity are much more promising concepts for the study of late life suicide. The tendency to see many problematic situations as naturally tied to the aging process still exists and is pervasive. We hope that the material collected in this issue will stimulate better thinking and better research on late life suicide.
老年人自杀仍然是一个被忽视的话题。我们对晚年自杀基本特征的了解仍然非常有限。老年人的身体疾病、丧亲之痛、孤独和依赖常常且不合理地营造出一种与老年人自杀相关的理性氛围。理性可能促成结束生命的最终决定。但理性对于正确解释自杀行为而言也可能是一个极具误导性的概念。对晚年自杀合理性的讨论值得进行充分而深入的研究。关于此事的政治辩论掩盖了老年人自杀的真正原因。焦虑、恐惧或失去核心身份认同方面的威胁，对于研究晚年自杀而言是更有前景的概念。将许多问题情境视为与衰老过程自然相关的倾向仍然存在且普遍存在。我们希望本期收集的资料能激发对晚年自杀进行更好的思考和研究。
