Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T02:30:52.489Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relationship between loneliness and passive death wishes in the second half of life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2011

Liat Ayalon  and
Sharon Shiovitz-Ezra
Liat Ayalon*
Affiliation:
Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Sharon Shiovitz-Ezra
Affiliation:
Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Liat Ayalon, Ph.D., School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 52900, Israel. Phone: +972-35317910. Email: ayalonl@mail.biu.ac.il.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: Both passive death wishes and loneliness are prevalent in old age and both have been shown to be associated with a variety of detrimental effects. The overall goal of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between loneliness and passive death wishes in the general population of Europeans over the age of 50 years.

Methods: Passive death wishes were evaluated in waves 1 and 2 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, using the question “in the past month, have you felt that you would rather be dead?” Loneliness was evaluated by the question: “how frequently have you felt lonely over the past week?” taken from the Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression questionnaire. All predictors were gathered in wave 1. Analysis was stratified into three age groups (50–65, 66–75, >75 years).

Results: Both passive death wishes (15.6%) and loneliness (mean (SE) = 1.68(0.03)) were highest in those over the age of 75, relative to the other two age groups (age 50–65: 4.6%, mean (SE) = 1.43(0.01); age 66–75: 7.3%, mean (SE) = 1.50(0.02), respectively). Loneliness remained a significant risk for passive death wishes, net of the effect of demographic, health, mental health, and various social indicators in those aged 50–65 years (OR = 1.47, 95%CI: 1.10–1.97) and 65–75 (OR = 1.74, 95%CI: 1.28–2.38), but not in those over the age of 75 (OR = 1.12, 95%CI: 0.84–1.47). None of the objective social indicators was associated with passive death wishes.

Conclusions: The present study emphasizes the differential role of loneliness across the lifespan. Any intervention to alleviate passive death wishes in the general population will benefit from addressing the subjective sense of loneliness more so than objective indicators of social interaction.

Keywords

epidemiologypassive death wishessocial supportolder adults
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 23 , Issue 10 , December 2011 , pp. 1677 - 1685
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ayalon, L. (2010). The prevalence and predictors of passive death wishes in Europe: a 2-year follow-up of the survey of health, ageing, and retirement in Europe. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Epublished ahead of print; doi: 10.1002/gps.2626.Google Scholar
Bartels, S. J. et al. (2002). Suicidal and death ideation in older primary care patients with depression, anxiety, and at-risk alcohol use. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 10, 417–427.Google Scholar
Börsch-Supan, A. et al. (2008). Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004–2007): Starting the Longitudinal Dimension. Mannheim: MEA.Google Scholar
Cacioppo, J. T., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C. and Thisted, R. A. (2006). Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Psychology and Aging, 21, 140–151.Google Scholar
Chang, E. C., Sanna, L. J., Hirsch, J. K. and Jeglic, E. L. (2010). Loneliness and negative life events as predictors of hopelessness and suicidal behaviors in Hispanics: evidence for a diathesis-stress model. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 1242–1253.Google Scholar
de Jong-Gierveld, J. (1987). Developing and testing a model of loneliness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 119–128.Google Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J. and Raadschelders, J. (1982). Types of loneliness. In Peplau, L. A. and Perlman, D. (eds.), Loneliness: A Sourcebook of Current Theory, Research and Therapy (pp. 105–119) New York: Wiley-Interscience.Google Scholar
Dennis, M., Baillon, S., Brugha, T., Lindesay, J., Stewart, R. and Meltzer, H. (2007). The spectrum of suicidal ideation in Great Britain: comparisons across a 16–74 year age range. Psychology and Medicine, 37, 795–805.Google Scholar
Ekwall, A. K., Sivberg, B. and Hallberg, I. R. (2005). Loneliness as a predictor of quality of life among older caregivers. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 49, 23–32.Google Scholar
Hawkley, L. C., Masi, C. M., Berry, J. D. and Cacioppo, J. T. (2006). Loneliness is a unique predictor of age-related differences in systolic blood pressure. Psychology and Aging, 21, 152–164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuo, W.-H., Gallo, J. J. and Tien, A. Y. (2001). Incidence of suicide ideation and attempts in adults: the 13-year follow-up of a community sample in Baltimore, Maryland. Psychological Medicine, 31, 1181–1191.Google Scholar
Lee, G. R. and Ishii-Kuntz, M. (1987). Social interaction, loneliness, and emotional well-being among the elderly. Research on Aging, 9, 459–482.Google Scholar
Paul, C., Ayis, S. and Ebrahim, S. (2006). Psychological distress, loneliness and disability in old age. Psychology, Health and Medicine, 11, 221–232.Google Scholar
Peplau, L. A. and Perlman, D. (1982). Loneliness: A Sourcebook of Current Theory, Research, and Therapy. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Pinquart, M. and Sorensen, S. (2001). Influences on loneliness in older adults: a meta-analysis. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 23, 245–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pompili, M. et al. (2008). Suicide in the elderly: a psychological autopsy study in a North Italy area (1994–2004). American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16, 727–735.Google Scholar
Prince, M. J. et al. (1999). Development of the EURO-D scale: a European Union initiative to compare symptoms of depression in 14 European centres. British Journal of Psychiatry, 174, 330–338.Google Scholar
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.Google Scholar
Raue, P. J., Morales, K. H., Post, E. P., Bogner, H. R., Have, T. T. and Bruce, M. L. (2010). The wish to die and 5-year mortality in elderly primary care patients. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18, 341–350.Google Scholar
Rowe, J. L., Conwell, Y., Schulberg, H. C. and Bruce, M. L. (2006). Social support and suicidal ideation in older adults using home healthcare services. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 758–766.Google Scholar
Savikko, N., Routasalo, P., Tilvis, R. S., Strandberg, T. E. and Pitkälä, K. H. (2005). Predictors and subjective causes of loneliness in an aged population. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 41, 223–233.Google Scholar
Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S. and Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): a re-evaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.Google Scholar
Shiovitz-Ezra, S. and Ayalon, L. (2010). Situational versus chronic loneliness as risk factors for all-cause mortality. International Psychogeriatrics, 22, 455–462.Google Scholar
Shiovitz-Ezra, S. and Leitsch, S. (2010). The role of social relationships in predicting loneliness: the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Social Work Research, 34, 157–167.Google Scholar
Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Ybasco, F. C., Borders, T. F., Babyak, M. A. and Higgins, R. L. (1996). Development and validation of the State Hope Scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 321–335.Google Scholar
Steptoe, A., Owen, N., Kunz-Ebrecht, S. R. and Brydon, L. (2004). Loneliness and neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and inflammatory stress responses in middle-aged men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29, 593–611.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tijhuis, M. A., De Jong-Gierveld, J., Feskens, E. J. and Kromhout, D. (1999). Changes in and factors related to loneliness in older men: the Zutphen Elderly Study. Age and Ageing, 28, 491–495.Google Scholar
van der Weele, T. J., Hawkley, L. C., Thisted, R. A. and Cacioppo, J. T. (2011). A marginal structural model analysis for loneliness: implications for intervention trials and clinical practice. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 225–235.Google Scholar
Victor, C. R., Scambler, S. J., Bowling, A. N. N. and Bond, J. (2005). The prevalence of, and risk factors for, loneliness in later life: a survey of older people in Great Britain. Ageing and Society, 25, 357–375.Google Scholar
Young, J. (1982). Loneliness, depression and cognitive therapy: theory and application. In Peplau, L. and Perlman, D. (eds.), Loneliness: A Source Book of Current Theory, Research and Therapy New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar