Le suicide chez les personnes âgées : une étude de l'effet de la personnalité et les déficits neurcognitifs sur le sentiment d'appartenance et la perception d'être un fardeau


Allison Eades

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs


Domaine : Santé des populations

Programme : Formation de doctorat

Concours 2016-2017


Réseau québécois sur le suicide, les troubles de l'humeur et les troubles associés (RQSHA)

Currently the highest rates of suicide globally are among older adults. As the Canadian population continues to age, suicide will become an undeniable public health concern. The interpersonal psychological theory of suicide (IPTS) has the ability predict when older adults are at risk for suicidal ideation (SI) and/or suicidal behaviour (SB). The ITPS suggests that when people feel isolated (thwarted belongingness–TB) and perceive themselves as a burden (perceived burdensomeness–PB) they are more likely to think about and take action toward suicide. Mental health conditions such as personality disorders (PD) and declines in cognitive functioning are also known to be strongly related to SI and SB.

Despite knowing that these factors are related to SI/SB we do not know if and/or how they influence perceptions of burdensomeness and belongingness among older adults. Consequently, we might not be able to predict SI and SB as accurately as possible. By collecting information from over 200 older adults, this study will explore how PDs and cognitive functioning are connected to TB and PB. It will also try to determine whether or not differences in these factors are able to predict individuals who are at risk for SI/SB. This information will have important important public health and clinical implications by helping us to identifying older individuals at risk for suicide and by allowing us to develop targeted interventions.