Attitudes of Older People Toward Suicide and Assisted Suicide: An Analysis of Gallup Poll Findings

The hypothesized relations between risk factors for suicide and lenient attitudes toward suicide were supported. Although none of the risk factors was associated with all five attitudes, in combination the results suggested that a common set of variables predict both lenient attitudes toward suicide and suicidal behavior. Future research is necessary to determine the role of depression and other factors that may mediate the observed relationships and to determine whether the presence of specific, strongly held attitudes sanctioning suicide in an older person signals the need to assess suicide risk.