Self-harm in older people with depression: Comparison of social factors, life events and symptoms
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Studying non-fatal self-harm in older adults may provide insight into suicidal behaviour in this age group. The objectives of the study were to determine clinical factors that might help to differentiate those older adults with depression who are most at risk of self-harm and suicide. We examined social factors, life events, hopelessness and other depression symptoms in a group of 48 older people with depression referred following an episode of self-harm compared with 50 similarly aged people with depression who had no history of self-harm. The groups were similar in many respects, although those in the self-harm group were more likely to have a poorly integrated social network and were more hopeless.
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No difference in proportions living alone was shown in a British study comparing a self-harm group and a depressed comparison group.
“No difference in proportions living alone could be shown in a British study by Dennis that compared a self-harm group and a depressed comparison group [36].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [36]
Factors related to self-harm/non-fatal suicidal behavior were examined in six studies.
“Factors related to self-harm/non-fatal suicidal behavior were examined in six studies [27,35,36,37,38,39].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [36]
Significant effects on non-fatal suicidal behavior were observed in the Dennis study, and on both attempted suicide and suicide in the Tsoh study.
“For these two studies, significant effects on non-fatal suicidal behavior were observed in the Dennis study from Great Britain [36] and on both attempted suicide and suicide in Tsoh’s Hong Kong-based study [38].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [36]
The results of these studies suggest that the effect of low social integration on suicidal behavior is not due solely to depression.
“Further, the results of these studies suggest that the effect is not due solely to depression.”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [36]
Three analyses across two independent studies, one from Great Britain and another from Hong Kong, established a consistent association between low social integration and fatal and non-fatal suicidal behavior.
“Three analyses across two independent studies, one from Great Britain [36] and another from Hong Kong [38], established a consistent association between low social integration and fatal and non-fatal suicidal behavior.”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [36]
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- Authors
- Dennis, M., Wakefield, P., Molloy, C., Andrews, H., & Friedman, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Leicester (GB)
- Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Dennis, Michael
- ORCID
- Dennis, Michael
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2005-06
- Volume
- 186
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 538-539
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2097221407
- Cited by
- 63
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 4.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- self-harm, older adults, depression, suicide risk, hopelessness, social network integration, life events, clinical risk factors
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Attitude to Health, Delivery of Health Care, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Risk Factors, Social Support, Suicide, Attempted, Self-Injurious Behavior
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