Suicide by the elderly

Suicides have increased by 60% worldwide during the last four decades and are now among the leading cause of death in some age groups (Wasserman et al., 2005; www.Suicide.org). In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that every 3 seconds someone makes a suicidal attempt, and every 40 seconds, one of these attempts succeeds (International Association for Suicide Prevention, 2008). In the EU, the number of deaths by suicide is higher than the ones caused by car accidents (Wahlbeck and Mäkinen, 2008, 10). Suicidal behavior is a challenge and of great concern within most societies. It is obvious that action needs to be taken, as well as to understand the factors that may influence the suicidal behavior within each age group. To-date most of the initiatives and strategies for suicide prevention have focused on teenagers and youth. However, as it will be emphasized, there is serious evidence indicating that the elderly populations must not only be included, but be paid a special attention to, since recent research suggests that it may no longer be true that teenagers and young adults have higher suicide rates than the elderly.