Severity of depression and suicidal ideations among elderly people in Singapore
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Studies in the West have concluded that the severity of depression is the strongest predictor of the course of suicidal ideations among the elderly. However, Asian culture tends to be more reserved and this may impact on the reporting of suicidal ideations. This study aims to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation among depressed elderly people in Singapore and attempts to investigate the relationship between severity of depression and suicidality. METHOD: Eighty consecutive depressed patients were recruited and severity of depressive symptoms rated with Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). Suicidality was assessed using the Beck's Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and Beck's Suicide Intent Scale (BSS). Suicidal ideation was defined as any thought of wanting to kill oneself over the past seven days and not just a passive wish to die. RESULTS: 53.8% verbalized thoughts of wanting to kill themselves. Males were three times more likely to report suicidal thoughts. Severity of depression did not significantly influence the presence of suicidal thinking. The association of depression severity and suicidal ideations is not strongly supported. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly males were more likely to report suicidal ideations when depressed. Elderly patients who reported suicidal ideations were likely to be more severely depressed. However, in a depressed elderly person, the absence of suicidal ideations would not infer that the episode of depression was less severe.
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Seven studies (with eight publications) focused on death wishes/suicide ideation.
“Seven studies (with eight publications) focused on death wishes/suicide ideation [27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [33]
Marital status did not distinguish depressed patients with and without suicidal ideation in Singapore.
“Tan found that marital status did not distinguish depressed patients with and without suicidal ideation [33].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [33]
No association between change of living arrangement and suicide ideation was shown in the Singapore study.
“Tan could show no association with suicide ideation in the Singapore study, though this question was based on the previous four weeks only [33].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [33]
Living with family or relative did not distinguish persons with and without suicidal thinking in the Singapore study by Tan.
“Living with family or relative did not distinguish persons with and without suicidal thinking in the Singapore study by Tan [33].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [33]
One study found that absence of relationship discord was associated with suicidal ideation.
“One study found that absence of relationship discord was associated with suicidal ideation [33].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [33]
In the Singapore-based study by Tan, an absence of relationship difficulties was associated with greater likelihood of reporting suicidal ideation, even after adjusting for whether the older adults lived alone.
“In the Singapore-based study by Tan an absence of relationship difficulties was associated with greater likelihood of reporting suicidal ideation, even after adjusting for whether the older adults lived alone [33].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [33]
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- Authors
- Tan, L. L., & Wong, H. B.
- Affiliations
- Institute of Mental Health (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Tan, Lay Ling
- Venue
- International Psychogeriatrics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-04
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 338-346
- ISSN
- 1041-6102 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2130652694
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Psychogeriatrics (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- depression severity, suicidal ideation, older adults, suicide risk, sex differences, Asian culture, hopelessness, suicidal intent, Singapore
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Severity of Illness Index, Singapore, Suicide, Attempted, Incidence, Prevalence, Intention, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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