Abstract
Recent suicide statistics within the US military remain elevated despite governmental, organizational, and community prevention efforts. Personal and organizational factors contributing to suicidal behavior in US service members, veterans, and our allies were explored including demographic and personality characteristics, interpersonal dynamics described in Joiner’s interpersonal theory of suicide (Van Orden et al., 2010), emotional elements which may exacerbate suicidal behavior, and mental health symptoms and diagnoses. Current suicide prevention efforts were also discussed, focusing on recent DoD initiatives, firearm safety, and community-level organizations. The goal of this chapter was to provide an accurate picture of the current state of suicidal behavior within the US military, describe research which may inform future detection and prevention, and identify areas in which further research is warranted. Suggestions for clinical practice are discussed in the last chapter of the brief.
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Notes
- 1.
Most studies were conducted with US military populations.
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Baker, M.T. et al. (2023). Suicide and Self-Harm in the Military. In: Violence in the Military. SpringerBriefs in Psychology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26883-0_2
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