Suicide Cognitions Among Turkish Older Adults: The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Loneliness, Social Isolation- Serial Mediation Analysis

Older adults have higher suicide rates than other age groups worldwide. This study examined whether loneliness (M1) and social isolation (M2) serially mediate the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (X) and suicide cognitions (Y). The sample included 1,119 adults aged 65-90 years (M = 73.48, SD = 7.54) living in Burdur, recruited from the Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Aging Studies Center database. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and serial mediation (Model 6). The results showed that the association between adverse childhood experiences and suicide cognitions was fully indirect, operating through loneliness and social isolation (R² = .67), highlighting early life adversity as a key psychosocial pathway.