Limited research has focused on protective factors associated with decreased suicide risk among military personnel and veterans. Self-forgiveness, defined as "the act of generosity and kindness toward the self following self-perceived inappropriate action," may be associated with decreased risk for suicide ideation and attempts, but few studies have examined this relationship. In a sample of 476 military personnel and veterans enrolled in college classes, self-forgiveness was associated with significantly less severe posttraumatic stress symptoms ( ϭ Ϫ.131, p ϭ .001) and was lowest among those participants who had made a suicide attempt, F(2, 435) ϭ 26.861, p Ͻ .001. Results of multinomial logistic regression indicated that self-forgiveness did not significantly differentiate participants with a history of suicide ideation from those who had never been suicidal (AOR ϭ 1.03, p ϭ .750), but self-forgiveness significantly differentiated participants who had attempted suicide from those who had only considered suicide (AOR ϭ 1.08, p ϭ .048). Self-forgiveness did not moderate the effects of posttraumatic stress on either suicide ideation or suicide attempts. Results suggest self-forgiveness may reduce risk for suicide attempts among military personnel and veterans with a history of suicide ideation.
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