Social Interactions among Older Adults Who Wish for Death

Sylvie Bernier DPsa, Sylvie Lapierre PhD*a & Sophie Desjardins PhDaa Department of psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, CanadaCONTACT Sylvie Lapierre Sylvie.Lapierre@uqtr.ca Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G9A5H7, CanadaAuthor NoteThis work is part of the first author’s doctoral dissertation, carried out under the supervision of the second author.ABSTRACTObjectives: When the need for relatedness is frustrated, some older adults feel that life is not worth living and wish for death (WD). The aim of this study was to look at the perception of social interactions among older adults who express the WD.Methods: A probabilistic sample of 2787 French-speaking community-dwelling older adults aged 65 to 96 years (M = 73.8) took part in the Seniors Health Survey, a study on the prevalence of mental disorders which also collected information on various demographic and social variables.Results: Results showed that 5% of participants expressed WD. Participants who WD felt significantly more isolated and in conflict with their children than participants without WD. When sociodemographic variables, self-rated physical health, and depression were controlled, three social variables predicted WD in a logistic regression: being distant toward others, dissatisfaction with social life, and a lack of participation in organizations.Conclusions: Results of the present study support the interpersonal theory of suicide, which suggests that self-reported thwarted belongingness can foster WD.Clinical implications: Clinicians should consider social dissatisfaction and withdrawal as risk factors for WD and design interventions that foster social skills or meaningful connections.