Aging and suicide? maturation or cohort effect?

Within the field of gerontology investigators have been concerned with determining whether social behavior can be explained by a cohort effect or a generational maturation effect. This paper considers the question by examining suicidal behavior from a subjective perspective. A Suicide Potential Scale is constructed for a sample population in the city of Flint, Michigan, and it is shown that the scale fits the Guttman scale criteria. The mean suicide potential scores of various age groups in the sample are then examined and it can be seen that the data lend support to the cohort model with the exception of individuals seventy-five and older, where it appears that maturation factors play an important role in explaining suicidal behavior.