found
a lack of positive problem
orientation and rational
problem-solving to be associated
with depression.
Their findings contradict
the widespread view of
late-life suicide attempters
and those who die by suicide
as being non-impulsive;
a difference which
persisted after accounting
for comorbid substance use
disorders. Findings by Wiktorsson et al. (2011) demonstrated
an association between low Sense of Coherence
and non-remission in suicidal elders, although they suggest
that this association may be mediated by depression.
The proportion of older people who were already prescribed
depression treatment at the time of the attempt was
relatively high. In Kim’s (2014) study, many older people
drank alcohol and smoked as a means to deal with their
depression, anxiety and despair, prior to their attempt.
Hawton et al. (2006) could not report on the prevalence
of psychiatric disorders in their sample because this
information was not systematically recorded. Previously
they showed that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders
in deliberate self-harm patients in general, especially
depression and alcohol abuse, and comorbidity with personality
disorders,
is similar to that found in studies of
suicides.