Exploratory qualitative study reveals sociocultural influences on suicidal thoughts in older adults with mobility issues, suggesting important implications.
This study explored the influence of the sociocultural context in shaping suicidal ideation among older persons with limited mobility in Tamil Nadu, India. This exploratory qualitative study used a social constructionist paradigm guided by the interpersonal theory of suicide. A total of 16 in-depth interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis of the data generated three themes: hampered life-world affinities, self-mortification, and death as personal signifiers of trauma. The results indicate that suicidal ideation represents not only internalized self-evaluations, but also cumulative responses to life-world experiences of exclusion, stigma, and identity erosion. The study showed that the participants constructed the meaning of suicide and death with respect to pain, exclusion, and religious beliefs. Overall, this study provides a nuanced understanding of the sociocultural embeddedness of suicidal ideation among older adults with limited mobility in relation to social expectations, representation, and identity.
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Sampath et al. (2026) studied this question.
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