Suicide among older adults is a major public health problem. In 2004, there were approximately 5,198 suicides among those 65 and older in the United States according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, n.d.). The rate of suicide for adults over the age of 65 was 14.3 per 100,000 and this rate increases with age. Moreover, men over the age of 65 are especially at risk for suicide given the suicide rate of 30.0 per 100,000. Given the high rates of suicide among older adults, there is an urgent need to identify the risk and protective factors associated with suicide behavior in this population. The design of effective suicide prevention strategies for older adults hinges on the identification of specific, modifiable risk factors.
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Brown, G.K., Brown, L.M., Bhar, S.S., Beck, A.T. (2008). Cognitive Therapy for Suicidal Older Adults. In: Gallagher-Thompson, D., Steffen, A.M., Thompson, L.W. (eds) Handbook of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies with Older Adults. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-72007-4_9
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