The Gerontologist
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cohen, C. I.
Right arrow Articles by Casimir, G. J.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cohen, C. I.
Right arrow Articles by Casimir, G. J.
The Gerontologist 48:71-78 (2008)
© 2008 The Gerontological Society of America

Racial Differences in Suicidality in an Older Urban Population

Carl I. Cohen, MD1, Yolonda Colemon, MD2, Robert Yaffee, PhD3 and Georges J. Casimir, MD1

Correspondence: Address correspondence to Carl I. Cohen, MD, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Box 1203, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203. E-mail: carl.cohen{at}downstate.edu

Purpose: This study used epidemiological data of older African Americans and Caucasians living in an urban community to compare those factors associated with active or passive suicidal ideation in each racial group. Design and Methods: Using 1990 census data for Brooklyn, New York, we attempted to interview all cognitively intact adults aged 55 or older in randomly selected block groups. The sample consisted of 214 Whites and 860 Blacks. We adapted George's social antecedent model to examine 19 independent variables; the dependent variable was based on lifetime history of passive or active suicidal ideation (hereafter, suicidality). We weighted the sample by race and gender. To control for sampling design effects, we used SUDAAN for data analysis. Results: Whites reported higher prevalence than Blacks for current suicidality (5.8% vs 2.3%) and lifetime suicidality (14.8% vs 10.2%). None of the differences were significant. In logistic regression analysis conducted for each race, four variables were associated with suicidality within both races: higher depressive symptom scores, higher anxiety symptom scores, copes by using medications, and lower religiosity. Two variables were associated with suicidality only among Whites: higher use of spiritualists and copes by keeping calm. One variable, greater use of doctors for mental health problems, was significant only among Blacks. Implications: There were no racial differences in the prevalence of suicidality. Virtually all of the factors associated with suicidality are potentially ameliorable. Among both racial groups, suicidality is likely to be impacted by addressing depressive and anxiety symptoms and, when appropriate, by encouraging various coping strategies, especially religiosity.

Key Words: Suicide • African Americans • Elderly • Race • African Caribbeans







HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
All GSA journals Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Copyright © 2008 by The Gerontological Society of America.