Indirect Life-Threatening Behavior in Elderly Patients

SUMMARY Older adults frequently engage in such indirect life-threatening behaviors as extreme lack of self-care, refusal to eat, refusal to take medications, and failure to comply with an understood medical regimen. These behaviors are often classified as non-compliance or passive suicide. Analysis of such phenomena reveals that these actions can represent attempts by the person to gain control of and to ameliorate a negative life situation. A case is presented which demonstrates the ultimate outcome of engagement in such behavior when it is misinterpreted and left untreated. The functions of indirect life-threatening behavior are discussed.