Citation

Kim SK. Indian J. Public Health Dev. 2019; 10(11): 4336-4342.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, R. K. Sharma)

DOI

10.5958/0976-5506.2019.04290.6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The rate of suicide has been of great concern in Korean society and is more problematic among elders living alone. Knowing the gender difference, the present study investigated factors influencing suicidal ideation among male elders living alone.

METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data on 2,295 male elders living alone from the Community Health Survey in 2013. Pearson's correlation analysis and path analysis were conducted using SPSS 25.0 and Amos 25.0.

FINDINGS: Most variables showed statistically significant but week correlation with suicidal ideation. In the path model, examined factors explained 43.1% of suicidal ideation, 48.3% of psychological distress, and 53.2% of physical health. Psychological distress was the only factor with a statistically significant influence on suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION: The present study revealed the importance of socioeconomic status among male elders and psychological distress had the biggest impact on suicidal ideation. Well-designed interventions to reduce psychological distress with effort to incorporate gender-specific factors may alleviate the risk of suicidal ideation among male elders living alone. © 2019, Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

human; male; aged; Community; Suicidal Ideation; quality of life; Elderly; suicidal ideation; depression; sex difference; social support; public health; Korea; prediction; questionnaire; distress syndrome; health status; health survey; social status; cross-sectional study; model; Article; Living alone; Prediction model