A Comparison of Antecedents of Homicide-Suicide and Suicide in Older Married men

The authors compared characteristics of 27 older men who perpetrated a spousal homicide-suicide & 36 age-matched married men who committed suicide in west central Florida between 1988-1994. Data were collected as part of an ongoing retrospective study of homicide & suicide among older adults in Florida. Men who committed suicide had significantly more disease conditions than homicide-suicide perpetrators. Half of the latter were in caregiving roles vs. 17% of the suicides. Depression was a prominent premorbid feature of both groups, but none of the perpetrators tested positive for antidepressants postmortem. (55 refs.)