1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The goal of this research was to study the prevalence of wishes to die in older adults living in the community and to verify the hypothesis that daily hassles, physical illness, and sleep problems are important associated factors for the wish to die even when depression is controlled for.» (p. 244)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Data used in this study came from a cross-sectional survey, the ESA study (Enquête sur la Santé des Aînés), conducted in 2005–2006 using a probabilistic sample of French-speaking community-dwelling older adults from each of the 16 administrative regions of the province of Quebec in Canada». (p. 244)

Instruments :
Questionnaire (ESA Diagnostic)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Almost all daily hassles presented in the scale (25/30) were mentioned significantly more often (p < 0.001) by persons with a wish to die compared to those without. The proportion was exceptionally high for worries about decline in physical capacities (66.7%, wish to die vs. 35.8%, no wish to die), health of a family member (64.9% vs. 45.1%), a personal illness (60.8% vs. 30.6%), aging too rapidly (48.5% vs. 25.5%), becoming dependent on others (49.7% vs. 25.4%), making meals or house cleaning (34.1% vs. 16.5%), or having no one to help if the need arose (33.3% vs. 12%). Hassles related to health decline seemed to be foremost in the minds of these elderly people. Interpersonal conflicts came in second place: conflicts with family members (32.2% vs. 12.4%), isolation (30.4% vs. 8.4%), unsatisfactory marital relationship (24.5% vs. 7.7%), or fear of confrontation with someone (21.1% vs. 10.4%). Practical problems like transport (23.4% vs. 9.8%), shopping difficulties (27.5% vs. 8.9%) or lack of money for clothing (24.6% vs. 9.7%) were also frequently mentioned.» (p. 247)