Publication year
2017
Citation Title
Military versus civilian murder-suicide.
Journal Name
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Journal Volume
32
Issue Number
17
Page Numbers
2566–2590
DOI
10.1177/0886260515593299
Summary
Military members and civilians have different patterns of violent behaviors; however, little is known about the differences between military members and civilians who perpetrated murder-suicide (i.e., a person kills someone[s] and then commits suicide within one day). This study analyzed data from 259 military and 259 civilian murder-suicide perpetrators to compare their differences in demographics and behaviors. Results revealed significant differences between military and civilian murder-suicide perpetrators in terms of age, motive, and behavioral factors.
Key Findings
Military murder-suicide perpetrators were older and were more likely to be married than civilian perpetrators.
Compared to civilian perpetrators, military perpetrators were more likely to commit murder-suicide due to declined health problems but less likely due to amorous jealousy.
Compared to civilian perpetrators, military perpetrators were less likely to be intoxicated and less likely to have intimate partner violence problems.
Implications for Program Leaders
Disseminate information on military bases about where to seek help when Service members are in distress
Offer support groups for Service members who experience poor health to promote coping skills
Provide workshops to military families on useful communication skills to improve family cohesion
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support programs that address the unique challenges that Service members might encounter after leaving the military
Raise awareness on military bases about how untreated health problems may lead to violence, including murder-suicide incidents
Encourage the training of professionals working with Service members regarding common motives that cause Service members to perpetrate murder-suicide
Methods
Data were obtained from the National Violent Death Reporting System between 2003 and 2010.
Measures included each participant's demographic information, military status, motive for murder, and victim-perpetrator relationship.
Data were analyzed to examine the differences between the military and civilian murder-suicide perpetrator groups.
Participants
Participants were 518 male murder-suicide perpetrators; half of them served in the military (n = 259) whereas the other half never served in the military (n = 259).
The average ages of the military and civilian samples were 57.05 years (SD = 18.06) and 41.56 years (SD = 13.72), respectively.
Both the military and civilian samples were primarily White (80% and 73%, respectively) and Black (both 19%); however, the civilian sample also included 8% of Asian Americans and Native Americans, whereas the ratio of Asian Americans and Native Americans was less than 1% in the military sample.
Limitations
Only male perpetrators were included in the study, so the findings cannot be applied to female perpetrators.
It was unclear whether the military perpetrators were still in the military when committed murder-suicide or how many years they served in the military, which could be confounding factors in the study.
Military status was not confirmed by official sources (e.g., military records); therefore, it may not truly represent some participants' military status.
Avenues for Future Research
Analyze data from both male and female perpetrators so that the findings can be better generalized
Examine whether Veteran's length of time served in the military influenced their possibility of perpetrating murder-suicide
Explore other factors (e.g., socioeconomic status) that are associated with murder-suicide
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Abstract
Previous studies have implicated significant differences between military members and civilians with regard to violent behavior, including suicide, domestic violence, and harm to others, but none have examined military murder-suicide. This study sought to determine whether there were meaningful differences between military and civilian murder-suicide perpetrators. Using data from the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), military (n = 259) and civilian (n = 259) murder-suicide perpetrators were compared on a number of demographic, psychological, and contextual factors using chisquare analyses. Logistic regression was used to determine which variables predicted membership to the military or civilian perpetrator groups. Military murder-suicide perpetrators were more likely to be older, have physical health problems, be currently or formerly married, less likely to abuse substances, and to exhibit significantly different motives than civilian perpetrators. Logistic regression revealed that membership to the military, rather than the civilian, perpetrator group was predicted by age, physical health problems, and declining heath motive—reflecting the significance of a more than 15-year difference in mean age between the two groups. Findings point to the need to tailor suicide risk assessments to include questions specific to murder-suicide, to assess attitudes toward murder-suicide, and to the importance of assessing suicide and violence risk in older adult military populations.
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