Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Precipitating circumstances of suicide among active duty U.S. Army personnel versus U.S. civilians, 2005-2010.
Journal Name
Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior
Journal Volume
45
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
65-77
DOI
10.1111/sltb.12111
Summary
To better understand the differences among suicide events between Soldiers and civilians, it is important to evaluate precipitating factors. Both Soldiers and civilian decedents experienced stress related to mental health symptoms and intimate partner relationships near the time of their deaths.
Key Findings
There were no significant differences in the health- and stress-related precipitating circumstances between Soldier and civilian decedents.
Mental health symptoms and intimate partner relationship difficulties were identified as the two most common precipitators to suicide among both Soldier and civilian samples.
It was estimated that 27% of Army and 28% of civilian decedents were receiving mental health treatment near time of death.
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop classes that teach coping skills to help manage Service members’ feelings of distress
Disseminate written materials about the warning signs related to suicidal ideation and where to receive help on installations
Create support groups for families of Service members who have committed suicide to receive social support
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage military families to attend educational programs about warning signs of suicidal ideation
Recommend supportive services and programming for Service members who show signs of distress
Continue to provide support for programs that engage military families in activities related to health and wellness
Methods
Data about the Soldiers’ military service (e.g., deployment history) were obtained from the Department of Defense Suicide Event Reports; additional data about Soldiers and civilians were gathered from the National Violent Death Reporting System.
Participants’ data were from Soldiers and civilians who resided in the 18 states who participated in the National Death Reporting System from 2005-2010.
Sources included law enforcement records, medical examiner and toxicology reports, and death certificates.
Participants
Decedent data related to suicides were analyzed from 141 Soldiers and 563 civilians. Researchers matched three to four civilian decedents for every one Soldier. Most of the sample was male (96%).
The sample was predominately White (72% of Army and 76% of civilian), followed by Black (13% of Army and 12% of civilian) and Latino (8% of Army and 6% of civilian). The rest of the sample was identified as “Other” race (7% of Army and 6% of civilian).
The majority of decedents were between 18 years and 39 years old. About half (46%) of Army decedents had at least one deployment.
Limitations
Group comparisons were limited due to the restricted amount of data that were able to be analyzed from large, shared databases.
There is no indication of what data sources supplied which information that was used for analyses, which limits the ability to interpret findings and replicate the study.
There were no data presented on the rationale for including a much larger number of civilian decedents in the study, so it is unclear as to why a larger civilian sample was used in the analyses.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine additional group differences related to suicide attempts and completions between Service members in different service branches and civilian populations
Study additional precipitating factors that may influence suicide events in Service members
Examine if participation in prevention programming reduces suicidal ideation among Service members
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
To help understand suicide among soldiers, we compared suicide events between active duty U.S. Army versus civilian decedents to identify differences and inform military prevention efforts. We linked 141 Army suicide records from 2005 to 2010 to National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) data. We described the decedents’ military background and compared their precipitators of death captured in NVDRS to those of demographically matched civilian suicide decedents. Both groups commonly had mental health and intimate partner precipitating circumstances, but soldier decedents less commonly disclosed suicide intent.
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