Analysis of the Determinants of Seniors’ Suicidal Behavior – Towards Gerontosuicidology

The increasing scale of suicidal behavior in the population poses a significant challenge to public health activities. Seniors, i.e. people over 60 years of age, and people of pre-retirement age constitute a higher risk group, which is visible in the number of suicide attacks and completed suicides. Comparative analyzes between individual age cohorts allow us to identify this age group as having the highest rate of attacks in relation to suicide attempts. The cognitive and theoretical goal is to learn about the determinants of seniors’ suicidal behavior. The practical and implementation goal is to develop recommendations for preventing seniors’ suicidal behavior. The main research problem is the following question: What are the determinants of seniors’ suicidal behavior? The desk research method was used. Using the typology of suicides presented by Durkheim, an attempt was made to analyze age-specific factors increasing the risk of suicide attacks. Due to the above, it is postulated to combine gerontological and suicidological knowledge into a gerontosuicidological perspective. Analyzes from this perspective will allow researchers to pay more attention to the problems of the suicidological crisis in the analyzed age cohort.