Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Baby Boomers and Rational Suicide

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Rational Suicide in the Elderly

Abstract

In the coming decades, clinicians treating older adults will have Baby Boomers as patients. This cohort is so large that it will profoundly affect how the elderly live and die in our society. As a result we will have to modify our clinical approach to older adults. In late life, a significant minority of Baby Boomers will consider suicide to be an intelligent and rational act in the face of an irreversible worsening in the quality of life. Many will not consider rational suicide to be an outlier act of questionable morality, but an option for having the kind of death suitable for their needs and wishes. This chapter will focus on why this is the case and provide a useful background for treating these patients.

What a drag it is getting old. –Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, “Mother’s Little Helper”

© Abkco Music, Inc.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Levitan P. Boomercide: from Woodstock to suicide. Portland: Portlandia Press; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Colby SL, Ortman JM. The Baby Boom cohort in the United States: 2012 to 2060. In: Current Population Reports. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 2014. http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p25-1141.pdf. Accessed 7 Nov 2015.

  3. Morgan DL. Facts and figures about the baby boom. Generations. 1998;22(1):10–5.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Schuman H, Scott J. Generations and collective memories. Am Soc Rev. 1989;54(3):359–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Schewe CD, Noble SM. Market segmentation by cohorts: the value and validity of cohorts in America and abroad. J Mark Manage. 2000;16:129–42. doi:10.1362/026725700785100479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Stewart AJ, Torges CM. Social, historical, and developmental influences on the psychology of the baby boom at midlife. In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, editors. The Baby Boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2006. p. 23–44.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Werner CA. The older population: 2010. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 2011. http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-09.pdf. Accessed 9 Nov 2015.

  8. Cohn D, Taylor P. Baby Boomers approach 65—Glumly. In: Social & Demographic Trends Report. Pew Research Center, Washington, DC. 2010. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/12/20/baby-boomers-approach-65-glumly/. Accessed 9 Nov 2015.

  9. AARP and GFK Custom Research North America: Baby Boomers envision what’s next? AARP, Washington, DC. 2011. http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/general/boomers-envision-retirement-2011.pdf. Accessed 9 Nov 2015.

  10. Weiss MJ. Chasing youth. Am Demogr. 2002;24(9):34–41.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Anti-aging Market—Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013–2019. Transparency Market Research, Albany, New York. 2014. http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/anti-aging-market.html. Accessed November 9, 2015.

  12. Alexander A. Anti-aging rides wave of sales from Baby Boomers. 2013. http://www.drugstorenews.com/article/anti-aging-rides-wave-sales-baby-boomers. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.

  13. Sadler W. The third age: six principles of growth and renewal after forty. Boston: Da Capo Press; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Jones KM, Whitbourne SK, Skultety KM. Identity processes and the transition to midlife among baby boomers. In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, editors. The Baby Boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2006. p. 149–63.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Harkin J, Huber J. Eternal youths: how the Baby Boomers are having their time again. London: Demos; 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Taylor P, Morin R, Parker K, Cohn D, Wang WW. Growing old in America: expectations vs. reality. Pew Research Center, Washington, DC. 2009. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2009/06/29/growing-old-in-america-expectations-vs-reality/. Accessed 10 Nov 2015.

  17. Nicholson H. French Revolution. The Times (London). 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Fingerman KL, Dolbin-MacNab M. The Baby Boomers and their parents: cohort influences and intergenerational ties. In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, editors. The Baby Boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2006. p. 237–59.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Pillemer K, Suitor JJ. Baby boom families: relations with aging parents. Generations. 1998;22(1):65–9.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Suhr JA, Kinkela JH. Perceived threat of Alzheimer disease (AD): the role of personal experience with AD. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2007;21(3):225–31. doi:10.1097/WAD.0b013e31813e6683.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Garfield C. Seven keys to a good death. In: Family & Couples. The Greater Good Science Center, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley. 2014. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_keys_to_good_death. Accessed 14 Nov 2015.

  22. Kadlec D. A good death: how Boomers will change the world a final time. In: TIME. Time Inc., New York. 2013. http://business.time.com/2013/08/14/a-good-death-how-boomers-will-change-the-world-a-final-time/. Accessed 2 Nov 2015.

  23. Carlson WL, Ong TD. Suicide in later life: failed treatment or rational choice. Clin Geriatr Med. 2014;30(3):553–76. doi:10.1016/j.cger.2014.04.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Death Cafe. http://deathcafe.com/what/. Accessed 5 Dec 2015.

  25. Queenan J. I don’t do grief. Am Spect. 2001;34(5):53–8.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Dugan A. In U.S., support up for doctor-assisted suicide. Gallup Inc., Washington, DC. 2015. http://www.gallup.com/poll/183425/support-doctor-assisted-suicide.aspx. Accessed 14 Nov 2015.

  27. Pettypiece S. Boomers push doctor-assisted dying in end-of-life revolt. 2013. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-04-11/boomers-push-doctor-assisted-dying-in-end-of-life-revolt. Accessed 14 Nov 2015.

  28. Skaff MM. The view from the driver's seat: sense of control in the Baby Boomers at midlife. In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, editors. The Baby Boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2006. p. 185–204.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Suicide—United States, 1970–1980. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. 1985;34(24):353–357.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Phillips JA, Robin AV, Nugent CN, Idler EL. Understanding recent changes in suicide rates among the middle-aged: period or cohort effects? Public Health Rep. 2010;125(5):680–8.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Sullivan EM, Annest JL, Luo F, Simon TR, Dahlberg LL. Suicide among adults aged 35–64 years—United States, 1999–2010. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013;62(17):321–325.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Hempstead KA, Phillips JA. Rising suicide among adults aged 40–64 years: the role of job and financial circumstances. Am J Prev Med. 2015;48(5):491–500. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.11.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Durkheim E. Suicide: a study in sociology. Glencoe: Free Press; 1951 (Original work published 1897).

    Google Scholar 

  34. Breault KD. Suicide in America: a test of Durkheim’s theory of religious and family integration, 1933–1980. Am J Sociol. 1986;92(3):628–56. doi:10.1086/228544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Denney JT, Rogers RG, Krueger PM, Wadsworth T. Adult suicide mortality in the United States: marital status, family size, socioeconomic status, and differences by sex. Soc Sci Q. 2009;90(5):1167–85. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00652.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Lin I-F, Brown SL. Unmarried boomers confront old age: a national portrait. Gerontologist. 2012;52(2):153–65. doi:10.1093/geront/gnr141.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Cherlin AJ. Demographic trends in the United States: a review of research in the 2000s. J Marriage Fam. 2010;72(3):403–19. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00710.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Fingerman KL, Pillemer KA, Silverstein M, Suitor JJ. The Baby Boomers’ intergenerational relationships. Gerontologist. 2012;52(2):199–209. doi:10.1093/geront/gnr139.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Van Orden KA, Witte TK, Cukrowicz KC, Braithwaite SR, Selby EA, Joiner Jr TE. The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychol Rev. 2010;117(2):575–600. doi:10.1037/a0018697.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Piazza JR, Charles ST. Mental health among the Baby Boomers. In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, editors. The Baby Boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2006. p. 111–48.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Warner M, Chen LH, Makuc DM, Anderson RN, Miniño AM. Drug poisoning deaths in the United States, 1980–2008. NCHS Data Brief. 2011;81:1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Elinson Z. Aging Baby Boomers hold on to drug habits. Wall Street J. 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Colliver JD, Compton WM, Gfroerer JC, Condon T. Projecting drug use among aging Baby Boomers in 2020. Ann Epidemiol. 2006;16(4):257–65. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.08.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Duncan DF, Nicholson T, White JB, Bradley DB, Bonaguro J. The Baby Boomer effect: changing patterns of substance abuse among adults ages 55 and older. J Aging Soc Policy. 2010;22(3):237–48. doi:10.1080/08959420.2010.485511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Borges G, Walters EE, Kessler RC. Associations of substance use, abuse, and dependence with subsequent suicidal behavior. Am J Epidemiol. 2000;151(8):781–9. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a010278.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Fässberg MM, Cheung G, Canetto SS, et al. A systematic review of physical illness, functional disability, and suicidal behaviour among older adults. Aging Ment Health. 2015;20(2):166–94. doi:10.1080/13607863.2015.1083945.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Wiktorsson S, Berg AI, Wilhelmson K, Van Orden K, Duberstein P, Waern M. Assessing the role of physical illness in young old and older old suicide attempters. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2016;31(7):771–4. doi:10.1002/gps.4390.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Martin LG, Freedman VA, Schoeni RF, Andreski PM. Health and functioning among Baby Boomers approaching 60. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2009;64(3):369–77. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbn040.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. King DE, Matheson E, Chirina S, Shankar A, Broman-Fulks J. The status of Baby Boomers’ health in the United States: the healthiest generation? [letter]. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(5):385–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Wang Y, Beydoun MA, Liang L, Caballero B, Kumanyika SK. Will all Americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the US obesity epidemic. Obesity. 2008;16(10):2323–30. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.351.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Wild S, Roglic G, Green A, Sicree R, King H. Global prevalence of diabetes estimates for the year 2000 and projections for 2030. Diabetes Care. 2004;27(5):1047–53. doi:10.2337/diacare.27.5.1047.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Nemetz PN, Roger VL, Ransom JE, Bailey KR, Edwards WD, Leibson CL. Recent trends in the prevalence of coronary disease: a population-based autopsy study of nonnatural deaths. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(3):264–70. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2007.79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Plassman BL, Langa KM, Fisher GG, et al. Prevalence of dementia in the United States: the aging, demographics, and memory study. Neuroepidemiology. 2007;29(1–2):125–32. doi:10.1159/000109998.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  54. Plassman BL, Langa KM, Fisher GG, et al. Prevalence of cognitive impairment without dementia in the United States. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148(6):427–34. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-148-6-200803180-00005.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  55. Henig RM. The last day of her life. The New York Times. 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Fallon C. Terry Pratchett, Popular Fantasy Author, Dead at 66. 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/12/terry-pratchet-dead_n_6489502.html. Accessed 5 Dec 2015.

  57. Barak Y, Aizenberg D. Suicide amongst Alzheimer's disease patients: a 10-year survey. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2002;14(2):101–3. doi:10.1159/000064931.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Erlangsen A, Zarit SH, Conwell Y. Hospital-diagnosed dementia and suicide: a longitudinal study using prospective, nationwide register data. Am J Geriatr Psychiatr. 2008;16(3):220–8. doi:10.1097/01.JGP.0000302930.75387.7e.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Seyfried LS, Kales HC, Ignacio RV, Conwell Y, Valenstein M. Predictors of suicide in patients with dementia. Alzheimers Dement. 2011;7(6):567–73. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2011.01.006.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Bass SA. Emergence of the third age: toward a productive aging society. J Aging Soc Policy. 2000;11(2–3):7–17. doi:10.1300/J031v11n02_02.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Taylor P, Funk C, Kennedy C. Baby Boomers approach age 60: from the Age of Aquarius to the age of responsibility. Pew Research Center, Washington, DC. 2005. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2005/12/08/baby-boomers-from-the-age-of-aquarius-to-the-age-of-responsibility/. Accessed 10 Nov 2015.

  62. VanDerhei J. Retirement income adequacy for Boomers and Gen Xers: evidence from the 2012 EBRI Retirement Security Projection Model®. EBRI Notes. 2012;33(5):2–14.

    Google Scholar 

  63. VanDerhei J. Retirement savings shortfalls: evidence from EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model®. Employee Benefit Research Institute, Washington, DC. 2015. http://www.ebri.org/pdf/briefspdf/EBRI_IB_410_Feb15_RSShrtfls.pdf. Accessed 28 Nov 2015.

  64. Helman R, Copeland C, VanDerhei J. The 2015 Retirement Confidence Survey: having a retirement savings plan a key factor in Americans’ retirement confidence. In: EBRI Issue Brief. Employee Benefit Research Institute, Washington, D.C. April 2015. http://www.ebri.org/pdf/briefspdf/EBRI_IB_413_Apr15_RCS-2015.pdf. Accessed 28 Nov 2015.

  65. Willis SL, Schaie KW. Cognitive functioning in the Baby Boomers: longitudinal and cohort effects. In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, editors. The Baby Boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2006. p. 205–34.

    Google Scholar 

  66. DeVaney SA, Chiremba ST. Comparing the retirement savings of the Baby Boomers and other cohorts. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC. 2005. http://stats.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/comparing-the-retirement-savings-of-the-baby-boomers-and-other-cohorts.pdf. Accessed 7 Nov 2015.

  67. Rhee N, Boivie I. The continuing retirement savings crisis. National Institute on Retirement Security, Washington, DC. 2015. http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/pdf/2015/RetirementSavingsCrisis.pdf. Accessed 7 Nov 2015.

  68. Greenblatt A. Aging Baby Boomers. CQ Researcher. 2007;17(37):865–88.

    Google Scholar 

  69. Butrica BA, Toder EJ, Toohey DJ. Boomers at the bottom: how will low income Boomers cope with retirement? AARP Public Policy Institute, Washington, DC. 2008. http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/1001217_low-income_boomers.pdf. Accessed 17 Nov 2015.

  70. Eggebeen DJ, Sturgeon S. Demography of the Baby Boomers. In: Whitbourne SK, Willis SL, editors. The Baby Boomers grow up: contemporary perspectives on midlife. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2006. p. 3–22.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, 1 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Robert E. McCue M.D.

Authors
  1. Robert E. McCue M.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert E. McCue M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Robert E. McCue

  2. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Meera Balasubramaniam

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

McCue, R.E. (2017). Baby Boomers and Rational Suicide. In: McCue, R., Balasubramaniam, M. (eds) Rational Suicide in the Elderly. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32672-6_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32672-6_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32670-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32672-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation