McLaren Suzanne, Gomez Rapson, Gill Peter, Chesler Jessica
School of Health Sciences and Psychology,Federation University Australia,Ballarat,Victoria,Australia.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2015 Jan;27(1):145-54. doi: 10.1017/S1041610214001501. Epub 2014 Aug 7.
Marriage has been identified as a protective factor in relation to suicide among older adults. The current study aimed to investigate whether sense of belonging mediated the marital status-suicidal ideation relationship, and whether gender moderated the mediation model. It was hypothesized that the relationship between being widowed and lower levels of sense of belonging, and between lower levels of belonging and higher levels of suicidal ideation, would be stronger for older men than older women.
A community sample of Australian men (n = 286) and women (n = 383) aged from 65 to 98 years completed the psychological subscale of the Sense of Belonging Instrument and the suicide subscale of the General Health Questionnaire.
The results supported the moderated mediation model, with gender influencing the marital status-sense of belonging relation. For men, widowhood was associated with lower levels of belongingness, whereas for women, marital status was unrelated to sense of belonging.
It would appear crucial to develop and implement interventions which assist older men to find new ways to feel important and valued after the death of their spouse.
婚姻已被确认为老年人自杀的一个保护因素。本研究旨在调查归属感是否介导了婚姻状况与自杀意念之间的关系，以及性别是否调节了这一中介模型。研究假设，丧偶与较低的归属感之间的关系，以及较低的归属感与较高的自杀意念之间的关系，在老年男性中比在老年女性中更强。
选取年龄在65至98岁之间的286名澳大利亚男性和383名澳大利亚女性组成社区样本，他们完成了归属感量表的心理子量表和一般健康问卷的自杀子量表。
研究结果支持了调节中介模型，即性别影响婚姻状况与归属感之间的关系。对于男性来说，丧偶与较低的归属感相关，而对于女性来说，婚姻状况与归属感无关。
制定和实施干预措施，帮助老年男性在配偶去世后找到新的方式来感受自身的重要性和价值，这似乎至关重要。
