研究老年人自杀的心理、社会因素、流行规律及预防对策，是建立健全老年人社会保障制度，解决老年人老有所养的重要依据。为此，本文就麻城中南片宋埠镇、歧亭镇、铁门乡、原喻河、凉亭乡等5个乡镇1989～1993年268例农村老年人自杀情况做一探讨。1调查对象、资料和方法1．1调查 Studying the psychology, social factors, epidemics, and prevention strategies of suicide for the elderly is an important basis for establishing and improving the social security system for the elderly and solving the problem of old people’s old-age support. For this reason, this article discusses 268 cases of rural elderly suicide in five towns and townships of Songcheng Town, Qiting Town, Tiemen Township, Yuanyu River, Liangting Township and other towns in Macheng City. 1 Survey objects, data and methods 1.1 Survey