A Description of Suicides in the Army National Guard During 2007-2014 and Associated Risk Factors

Suicide, due to its increased occurrence in recent years, has been a chief
concern of the U.S. military. While there have been many published studies on
the topic, conspicuously absent are studies that have included reserve military
personnel. To fill this gap, this study reports descriptive statistics of personnel
information and events surrounding 706 Army National Guard suicides that
had occurred from 2007 through 2014. Comparative personnel information for
random samples of nonsuicides for similar years (8 years, 1,000 cases per year)
allowed examining factors associated most with suicide. Findings were very similar
to those observed in the active duty Army and civilian populations. Primary
risk factors for suicide were as follows: age (young), gender (male), and race/
ethnicity (White). Most suicides occurred in nonmilitary status (86%) involving
personal firearms (72%). Most frequent events surrounding the suicide were as
follows: poor military performance (36% of all suicides), parent–family relationship
problems (28%), substance abuse (27%), past behavioral health problem
(20%), current behavioral health problems (10%), income problems (22%), and
full-time employment problems (18%). Implications of findings for suicide prevention
are discussed.