Research Projects
Research in our lab broadly addresses mental health problems of older adulthood. Dr. Fiske is primarily interested in the etiology of depression and suicidal behavior in late life and the implications for prevention. The primary emphasis is on the role of physical illness in depression and suicide among older adults. Other research with older adults under-way in the lab includes investigating the association between specific depressive symptoms and suicide risk in older adults.
Coping with Chronic Illness. Research has shown that poor health is a significant risk factor associated with suicide, and may be a particularly important factor in later life, when health problems become more common. This study utilized the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe, an international, population-based data set including individuals from several European countries, to examine the association between a variety of specific health conditions and increased odds of suicidal ideation. Further studies will elaborate on these associations.
Health Conditions and Suicidal Ideation. Research has shown that poor health is a significant risk factor associated with suicide, and may be a particularly important factor in later life, when health problems become more common. This study utilized the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe, an international, population-based data set including individuals from several European countries, to examine the association between a variety of specific health conditions and increased odds of suicidal ideation. Further studies will elaborate on these associations.
Depression Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation. Depression is a major risk factor for suicide. The present study will examine the predictive utility of different depression symptoms in predicting suicidal ideation and death by suicide. Specifically, the study Will investigate whether the predictive utilty of depression symptoms is moderated by age, gender, and physical health problems.
Depression, Functional Limitations, Death by Suicide. Depression and functional limitations are both risk factors for suicide. Depression and functional limitations also have a bidirectional relation with one another. The present study will examine the temporal associations between depressive symptoms, functional limitations, and death by suicide in a longitudinal sample of middle aged and older adults.
Help Seeking Behavior. Help seeking is a compensatory primary control strategy people use when faced with obstacles to their goals. The use of these strategies has been associated with lower levels of depression in the context of functional disability. Older adults commonly face the challenges of functional disability and may benefit from seeking help from others. Nonetheless, many individuals are reluctant to ask for help. Little is known about methods of increasing help seeking behavior. The present study is evaluating one possible method of increasing help seeking behavior in older adults.