Psychological gaps related to the suicidal ideation in the elderly based on Social Reference Theory： a qualitative study
10.11886/scjsws20220409001
- VernacularTitle:基于社会参照论的老年人自杀意念相关的心理落差质性研究
- Author:
Dan ZHANG
1
;
Yinong TIAN
2
;
Jie ZHANG
3
;
Yonggang SU
1
Author Information
1. School of Basic Medical Sciences， Shandong University， Ji'nan 250012， China
2. School of Foreign Languages and Literature， Shandong University， Ji'nan 250100， China
3. Department of Sociology， State University of New York College at Buffalo， Buffalo NY 14222， USA
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Elderly;
Suicidal ideation;
Gap;
Social Reference Theory;
Qualitative study
- From:
Sichuan Mental Health
2022;35(4):349-353
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo unmask the psychological gaps related to suicide ideation in the elderly based on Social Reference Theory， so as to put forward countermeasures for psychological crisis intervention and management. MethodsFrom 2018 to 2019， purposive sampling was adopted to select 19 elderly people with history of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt from 37 geriatric nursing institutions in Ji'nan， Shandong province. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the elderly， and the collected data were processed by Colaizzi seven-step analysis method. ResultsThe qualitative analysis showed that the elderly with suicidal ideation often experienced strong psychological gaps， including physical condition and function gap， family role gap， socially isolated and lonely gap， filial expectation gap and the gap between the real self and ideal self. ConclusionThe psychological gaps serve as the main psychological motivator for suicidal ideation in the elderly， therefore， reducing the psychological gaps can be a new approach for the suicide intervention among the elderly.
