Social psychological aspects of suicide in the old age (author's transl)]

Referring to Emile Durkheim's classical appraoch the normative aspects of suicide are emphasized, regarding suicidal behavior not as a purely individual phenomenon but as always co-determined by the normative expectations of a person's social environment. Starting from the dramatic increase of suicide rates with age combined with a marked decrease in non-letal suicide attempts it is argued that normally suicide-inhibiting social norms become less effective as a person appraoches old age, thus weakening the appellative motivation components of suicidal behavior and strengthening evasive strivings. Results of 2 representative studies are reported which tend to support these as well as a number of more specific hypotheses. Moreover, some aspects in the attitude to younger persons to suicidal acts of old people seem even compatible with the assumption of latent suicide-facilitating expectations.