An exploratory study of eighty-three randomly selected elderly persons relocated to a nursing home was conducted in the north of Israel. The aim was to examine the relationship between duration of residency and suicidal ideation. Elderly people in four different periods of residency were compared on three scales: the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Scale for Suicide Ideation. Participants at all four stages of relocation expressed high levels of suicidality, particularly those in their first seven months of residency. In addition, residents at different stages of adaptation to relocation at the nursing home expressed different levels of depression, suicidality, and hopelessness. It is suggested that special attention be paid to residents' subjective mental and emotional states, especially during the first period of relocation.
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