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Passive Suicidal Ideation Among Older Adult Insomnia Clinic Patients With Insomnia Disorder

Year: 2017

Type: conference-abstract

Abstract: Up to 29% of older adults suffer from insomnia symptoms (Ancoli Israel & Cooke, 2005; Schubert et al., 2002). Symptoms of insomnia have been found to be associated with suicidal ideation among older adults (Nadorff, Fiske, Sperry, Petts & Gregg, 2013). The present study seeks to investigate factors associated with suicidal ideation within a sample of 51 older adults diagnosed with Insomnia Disorder seeking treatment at an Insomnia Clinic. The sample was primarily female (70.6%) and Caucasian (96.1%). Participants completed self-report measures of insomnia symptoms (Insomnia Severity Index, ISI), daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, ESS), anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory, BAI), depression symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised, CESD-R), emotion regulation strategies (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire reappraisal and suppression scales, ERQ reappraisal and ERQ suppression), and social support (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, ISEL). Passive suicidal ideation was assessed with items 14, “I wished I were dead” and 15, “I wanted to hurt myself”, from the CESD-R and coded as a dichotomous variable. Passive suicidal ideation was endorsed by 9.8% of the sample. Older adults with passive suicidal ideation had more anxiety symptoms (F1,48 = 17.59, p < .01), more depression symptoms (F1,49 = 21.39, p < .01), greater use of suppression strategies to regulate negative emotions (F1,36 = 7.24, p = .011), and less social support (F1,31 = 6.37 p = .017). These findings indicate the need to screen for suicidal ideation among older adults seeking treatment for insomnia who present with elevated depression or anxiety symptoms.

Source: Innovation in Aging

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.1515

Authors: R. Cui, D. Richter, A. Fiske

Institution: West Virginia University

Language: English

Topic: Suicide and Self-Harm Studies

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,977