Abstract: This paper examines the problem of elder suicide in the context of societal aging and social change.Statistics in China show that more elderly people killed themselves in the years after 2000 than in the previous decade.Existing research shows that prolonged illness and family conflicts are the two leading causes of elder suicide in China as a whole.The present paper’s central argument is that the gap between elderly people’s expectation and the reality they face in their lives could ease or intensify the two leading causes of elder suicide in urban China especially,and therefore an analysis of relative deprivation is much needed.To this end,the lack of medical insurance and the factor of urban expansion will be discussed with reference to elder suicides in Chinese cities.

Keywords: Aging Society, Elder Suicide, Theory of Relative Deprivation

摘要： 文章将在老龄化和城市变迁的背景下审视中国城市老人自杀的问题。笔者对中国自杀数据的整理和分析显示,中国城市老人在千禧年后的自杀率超过2000年之前的年均水平。以往的研究通常将久病厌世和家庭纠纷视为中国城市老人自杀的主要诱因。笔者却认为,相对剥夺感的大小可以强化或缓解这两个导致自杀的驱动力,所以应该在相关的分析中加以重视。为此,本文将集中分析医保的缺乏和城市开发对城市老人自杀问题的影响。

关键词: 人口老龄化, 老年人自杀, 相对剥夺理论