elderly people

In Western society, older people are more likely to commit suicide than members of any other age group. About 19 out of every 100,000 people over the age of 65 in the United States commit suicide. The suicide of the elderly in the 80s in the United States accounted for more than 19% of the total number of suicides, but this is only 12% of the total population.

Many factors influence such a large suicide rate (Hepple & Quinton, 1997; Canetto, 1995). As people grow older, they increasingly get sick, lose close friends and relatives, lose control of their lives and social status. Elderly people often feel hopelessness, loneliness or depression, and therefore the likelihood of committing suicide naturally increases among them. As one study showed, 44% of older people who committed suicide did so because of the fear that they would be placed in a nursing home. The suicide rate among older people who have recently lost their spouse is also unusually high.
Old men make more determined attempts than young suicides, and therefore they are more often successful in killing themselves. Obviously, one out of every four elderly people attempting suicide succeeds. Given the determination of the elderly and their poor physical condition, many insist that older people who want to die and think clearly should be allowed to fulfill their desire. Nevertheless, clinical depression appears to play a significant role in this kind of suicide, since it is the cause of more than 60% of suicides. Therefore, we can conclude that older people more than others should be treated for depressive disorders.

The level of suicide among the elderly is much lower than in some national minorities. Although Native Americans have the highest suicide rate, for example, suicide rates among older Native Americans are quite low. Native Americans highly value the elderly, their wisdom and experience gained over many years, and it may therefore be the level of suicide among them is relatively low. In contrast, older white Americans are rated by society quite negatively.
Similarly, the suicide rate is only one-third among older African Americans, compared with older white Americans. One explanation for such a low suicide rate is the multitude of stress factors affecting African Americans, when "only the strongest survive." Those who live to old age have overcome many difficulties and, as a rule, are proud of what they have achieved. Since for white Americans to live until gray hair is not in itself a special achievement, then they have a different attitude towards life and old age. It can also be assumed that older African Americans are more successfully coping with the fury pushing young African Americans to commit suicide.