Citation

Aharon ON, Aisenberg-Shafran D, Levi-Belz Y. Death Stud. 2024; 48(7): 652-662.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2023.2255854

PMID

37695242

Abstract

Understanding mental health professionals' (MHPs) willingness to treat suicidal older adults is critical in preventative psychotherapy. We examined the effect of a hypothetical patient's age and suicide severity on MHPs' willingness to treat or refer them to another therapist. Vignettes of hypothetical patients were presented to 368 MHPs aged 24-72 years. The vignettes had two age conditions (young/old) and three suicidality severity conditions. MHPs completed measures of their levels of willingness to treat/likeliness to refer and their levels of ageism. As suicide severity intensified, MHPs were less willing to treat and more likely to refer. Willingness to treat was the lowest for the old/suicide attempt condition. Ageism moderated the relationships between patient age and willingness to treat: MHPs with higher ageism were less willing to treat older than younger patients, regardless of suicidality severity.

FINDINGS indicate that MHPs with higher ageism levels are more reluctant to treat older suicidal patients and highlight the need for training MHPs to reduce ageism and enhance competence in suicide interventions.

Language: en

Keywords

Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Ageism; Attitude of Health Personnel; Female; Health Personnel; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Psychotherapy; Suicide; Suicide Prevention; Young Adult