Objectives Among the Korean elderly (those 65 years of age and older), the suicide rate is 80.3/100 000 people, which is ten times higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average. Because South Korea is rapidly becoming an aging population, this high elderly suicidal rate will only get worse. Although the size of the elderly suicide problem is quite large, previous research in South Korea has surveyed restricted areas and not the entire country. Even though the factors that affect elderly suicide are complicated, there has been little research into these influencing factors. Thus, this research uses the national survey data (Community Health Survey) that was obtained in 2009. Additionally, we analyze factors affecting elderly suicidal ideation and attempts as well as the paths of these effects.
Methods Community Health Survey data obtained by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2009 was used for this study. We additionally examined the factors that affect suicide with chi-squared tests, t-tests, Pearson’s correlation test, and path analysis.
Results Depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation are the only factors that directly affect suicidal attempts. Demographic, behavioral, and physical activity factors have indirect effects on suicidal attempts.
Conclusions Depression has the strongest influence on suicidal ideation and attempts. Demographic, behavioral, and physical activity factors affect suicidal attempts mostly through depressive symptoms. In addition, there is a path that suggests that demographic, behavioral, and physical activity factors affect suicidal attempts not through depression symptoms but only through suicidal ideation. This means that the elderly who do not have depression symptoms attempt suicide according to their own situations and characteristics.
Summary
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Socioeconomic factors associated with suicidal behaviors in South Korea: systematic review on the current state of evidence Nicolas Raschke, Amir Mohsenpour, Leona Aschentrup, Florian Fischer, Kamil J. Wrona BMC Public Health.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Suicidal Behavior Among Elderly Inpatients: its Relation to Functional Disability and Pain Suzaily Wahab, Tien Yong Chua, Rosdinom Razali, Zanariah Mat Saher, Iman Hakimi Zamzam, Mohamad Adam Bujang Psychology Research and Behavior Management.2022; Volume 15: 737. CrossRef
Parks and green areas and the risk for depression and suicidal indicators Kyoung-bok Min, Hyun-Jin Kim, Hye-Jin Kim, Jin-young Min International Journal of Public Health.2017; 62(6): 647. CrossRef
Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Depression in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in South Korea Jae Soon Yoo, Sun Ju Chang, Hyun Sook Kim Research and Theory for Nursing Practice.2016; 30(3): 200. CrossRef