Military Deployments and Suicide: A Critical Examination

Abstract

Deployment to a combat zone is a fundamental mission for most military forces, but prior research suggests that there is a complex and nuanced association between deployment and related risk factors for suicide. Deployment and combat experiences vary greatly among military personnel and can affect a variety of protective and risk factors for suicide. This article offers a critical examination of the association among modern U.S. military deployments, suicide attempts, and death while considering the context of a prominent theory of suicide. Although previous work has demonstrated that deployment is not associated with suicide overall in this population, there is growing evidence that risk may be elevated shortly after deployment, and for some subgroups. Specific aspects of combat exposure, including the experience of killing or witnessing death in combat, may be important contributing factors. An analysis of the literature illustrates that deployment-related risk factors for suicide are complex. The limitations of the literature are discussed, and future directions are suggested.

Association of Suicide Risk With Transition to Civilian Life Among US Military Service Members

“… 1 In response, national leaders have dedicated considerable resources to improve the identification and prevention of the factors associated with suicide risk among service members and veterans. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 One specific, relevant factor is the transition from military service to civilian life. 5 Separation from military service is a milestone characterized by a variety of psychosocial stressors and adjustment challenges (eg, disruptions in social support, financial strains, and changes in access to health care and mental health care) 6 , 7 that might be associated with increased risk of suicide.…”

Military suicide prevention: The importance of leadership behaviors as an upstream suicide prevention target

“…Future research should employ more thorough assessment of SI with shorter times between follow‐up assessments to more accurately capture potential variation. The shorter time intervals may help contextualize important stressors not assessed in the current study that could have influenced SI at related time points, such as prolonged deployment stressors or moral injury (Bryan et al, 2014; Reger et al, 2018). More thorough assessment of leadership behaviors beyond single items with different response scales should be considered in future investigations as well.…”

Work and suicide: An interdisciplinary systematic literature review

“…This may again cause feelings of thwarted belongingness, but it may also cause feelings of psychache because these veterans may not have the skills to satisfy their lower-order needs. As veterans may have become accustomed to death and pain while serving in the military, their acquired capability for suicide may no longer "lay dormant" when they are removed from their social connections and occupational duties, resulting in an elevated desire for suicide (Bryan et al, 2010;Reger et al, 2018). These feelings of thwarted belonging, burdensomeness, and psychache may cause military members and veterans to experience greater suicide rates, in part because of heightened capability for suicide due to their profession, than most other occupations.…”