Suicide in later life is a global public health problem. The aim of this review was to conduct a systematic analysis of studies with comparison groups that examined the associations between social factors and suicidal behavior (including ideation, non-fatal suicidal behavior, or deaths) among individuals aged 65 and older. Our search identified only 16 articles (across 14 independent samples) that met inclusion criteria. The limited number of studies points to the need for further research. Included studies were conducted in Canada (n = 2), Germany (n = 1), Hong Kong (n = 1), Japan (n = 1), Singapore (n = 1), Sweden (n = 2), Taiwan (n = 1), the U.K. (n = 2), and the U.S. (n = 3). The majority of the social factors examined in this review can be conceptualized as indices of positive social connectedness—the degree of positive involvement with family, friends, and social groups. Findings indicated that at least in industrialized countries, limited social connectedness is associated with suicidal ideation, non-fatal suicidal behavior, and suicide in later life. Primary prevention programs designed to enhance social connections as well as a sense of community could potentially decrease suicide risk, especially among men.

Around the world girls and women have higher rates of suicidal ideation and behavior but lower rates of suicide than boys and men. There is, however, significant variability in gender patterns and meanings suicidal behavior within and across cultures. For example, in the United States, suicide is most common among older "White" men, and is typically considered masculine behavior. Women who kill themselves are viewed as acting like men, and therefore deviant. By contrast, in other societies, including China, suicide is viewed as an act of the powerless, and is most frequent in young women. In these societies, men who kill themselves are considered weak and effeminate. The cultural diversity in gender patterns and interpretations of suicidal behavior challenges essentialist perspectives on gender and suicidal behavior. It also challenges the assumption, common in industrialized countries, that women are protected from suicide as long as they stay "feminine" and subsumed within the family. This cultural diversity also points to the pitfalls of theorizing about clinical phenomena as if they were culture-free, and calls for culturally grounded theory, research, and practice.

Globally, older adults have higher suicide rates than other age-groups. However, it is predominantly men who die of suicide in late adulthood, with variability by culture. In the United States, European-descent men are overrepresented among suicide decedents. In this article, theories and evidence about aging adversities, individual dispositions, and cultural influences were evaluated for their potential to explain the suicide vulnerability of European-descent older men. Aging adversities were not found to account for these men’s suicide proneness. European-descent older men are exposed to less severe aging adversities than older women or ethnic-minority men—though they may be more impacted by them. Rigidity in coping and in sense of self, consistent with hegemonic-masculinity scripts, emerged as individual-level clues. The indignities-of-aging and the masculinity-of-suicide scripts may be cultural influences. This analysis shows how consideration of masculinities and suicide scripts expands our understanding of older men’s suicide as well as, likely, our tools for its prevention.

Suicide is an increasing contributing cause of mortality in middle-aged adults; however, knowledge to guide prevention is limited. This first systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on midlife suicide has provided an overview of published research on this issue and synthesized the evidence on socioeconomic and physical and mental health factors associated with this mortality. Using PRISMA guidelines MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for English-language publications that involved persons aged 35 to 65, used individual-level data, and reported prevalence of exposure(s) or relative risks. The search identified 62 studies on midlife suicides and associated factors (28 for SES, 22 for psychiatric disorder and 23 for physical illness). All studies were from high income countries, and most (80.6%) used data from population registries. Meta-analyses showed that the pooled prevalence of exposure in suicide decedents was 57.8% for psychiatric disorder, 56.3% for low income, 43.2% for unemployment, and 27.3% for physical illness. The associated pooled risk ratio was 11.68 (95% confidence intervals: 5.82-23.47) for psychiatric illness of any type, 12.59 (8.29-19.12) for mood disorders, 3.91 (2.72-5.59) for unemployment, 3.18 (2.72-3.72) for being separated or divorced, 2.64 (2.26-3.10) for cancer, 2.50 (0.96-6.38) for central nervous system illness, and 2.26 (1.16-4.41) for low income. In conclusion, midlife suicide is strongly associated with socioeconomic difficulties and physical and psychiatric illnesses that are common in this age population. Future investigations should consider the interactions between risk factors, the intersectionality of sex and ethnicity, and include data from low- and middle-income countries.

Background: The literature on Muslim women's suicidality has been growing. Comprehensive reviews are, however, unavailable, and theory needs development. Aims: This article reviews and integrates theories and findings about Muslim women's suicidality. Method: Two databases (PsycINFO and Web of Science) were searched for publications about Muslim women's suicidality. Results: There is significant variability in Muslim women's patterns of suicidality across Muslim-majority communities and countries. Muslim women represent half to nearly all cases of nonfatal suicidal behavior. According to the official records of Muslim-majority countries, women's suicide mortality is lower than that of men. Community studies, however, show that in some areas, Muslim women have significantly higher suicide rates than Muslim men. Both nonfatal and fatal suicidal behaviors are most common among uneducated and poor rural young women. Muslim women's typical suicide methods vary by locale, and include self-burning, hanging, and poisoning. With regard to contexts and meanings, a recurring female script is that of suicidality as protest against and desperate escape from the oppressive regulation as well as the abuse many women endure within their families and societies. Conclusion: Understanding and preventing Muslim women's suicidality, and the socially sanctioned oppression it is often a response to, require system-level – not just individual-level – analyses and interventions as well as a human rights perspective.