he Elder extolled the virtues of suicide for the elderly. Osgood (1985) notes some of the demographic factors that may be discerned for suicide among the elderly. In all age groups, suicide rates are significantly higher for males than for females, and the disparity is even greater for the elderly than for any other age group. While males over 65 have a suicide rate four times the national average, while white females over 65 have a rate that is twice the national average. The white male suicide to white female suicide ratio is roughly 3 to 1. Elderly suicide rates for nonwhites are considerably lower than for whites, with a ratio of elderly white to elderly nonwhite suicides at approximately 3 to 1 in the later age groups. For whites, the trend is an increase in suicides through the last stages of the life cycle, while for nonwhites the rate decreases. Suicide also varies by marital status, with markedly higher rates for nonmarried persons, and with the elderly who have lost s
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