Studies of Suicide in Later Life: Methodologic Considerations and Research Directions

The authors summarize an international workshop where they reviewed four research approaches to studying putative risk factors: empidemiologic studies of suicidal behaviours, clinic-based follow-up studies, studies of suicide attempters, & psychological autopsy studies. They provide brief descriptions of the approaches, examples of questions best addressed by each approach, & their weaknesses & limitations. They also recommend promising areas for future research & propose opportunities for research that could be conducted cross-nationally. (75 refs.)