African American females

White females

African American males

White males

26.0

10.1

7.2

2.0

32.0

53.0

67.6

11.8

18.5

18.9

6.6

6.3

6.3

2.6

1.4

0.1

Per

cen

t

Age Groupings

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

85+75-8465-7455-64

Older Suicide by Race and Gender, 1992

Risk Factors for Suicide in Late Adulthood

• Living alone and being socially isolated

• Experiencing financial difficulty

• Feeling depressed or useless

• Being alcohol or drug dependent

• Having a mental illness that reduces communication

• Suffering from chronic pain, illness, or incapacity

• Being unable to express grief or suffering

• Losing significant relationships due to the death of loved ones

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s Stages of Coping with Death

Denial “Not me.”

Anger “Why me?”

Bargaining “Yes me, but . . .”

Depression “Yes me.”Begin to mourn.

Acceptance “My time is very close now, and it’s all right.”

Stage Associated Feelings

Source: Kubler-Ross, E. (1969), On death and dying, New York: MacMillan.

Ways in Which Culture Influences Death Concerns

• Affects the assessment of comfort needs of the dying and the

kind of care provided

• Influences selection, perception, and evaluation of health care

givers and their methods

• Shapes beliefs about causes of death.

• Determines the disposition of the body and funeral and burial

rituals

• Patterns grief responses and bereavement roles.

Source: Adapted from Ross (1994)