The prevalence and predictors of passive death wishes in Europe: a 2-year follow-up of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated regional variations (South, Centre, and North of Europe) in passive death wishes (wish to die) and predictors of passive death wishes, using a cross-national longitudinal design.

Methods: The Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is a cross national European survey of individuals over the age of 50 and their spouse of any age. This study relied on wave 1 and 2 of SHARE. Passive death wishes were evaluated using an item from the Euro-D. A variety of clinical and sociodemographic variables were evaluated as potential predictors.

Results: The rate of passive death wishes was significantly lower in Northern Europe (4.6%) than in Southern (8.5%) and Central Europe (7.0%). Older adults, females, those reporting more depressive symptoms, more medical conditions, and lower levels of hope in wave 1 were more likely to report passive death wishes in wave 2, unrelated to geographic region. In contrast, passive death wishes reported in wave 1 were a stronger risk for passive death wishes in wave 2 for Northern Europeans than for Southern Europeans.

Conclusions: Despite notable geographic differences in the prevalence rate of passive death wishes, most predictors evaluated in the present study function similarly across the three European regions.