The Sexual Harassment–Suicide Connection in the U.S. Military: Contextual Effects of Hostile Work Environment and Trusted Unit Leaders

Griffith, James

doi:10.1111/sltb.12401

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…Fourteen studies (29.8%) assessed the relation between MST and suicidal behaviors. MST was found to be significantly associated with suicide ideation (Bryan et al, 2015; DiMauro et al, 2018; Gradus et al, 2013a; Griffith, 2017; Klingensmith et al, 2014; Monteith et al, 2015, 2016a, 2016b; Schry et al, 2015; Stahlman et al, 2015), suicide plan (Bryan et al, 2015; Griffith, 2017), and suicide attempt (Bryan et al, 2015; Gradus et al, 2013b; Griffith, 2017; Klingensmith et al, 2014; Monteith et al, 2016a; Rosellini et al, 2017; Stahlman et al, 2015), with one exception: Beckman et al (2018) found that MST was not significantly associated with past year suicide ideation. Further, one study found that a history of MST was associated with increased odds of suicide mortality (Kimerling et al, 2016).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Military Sexual Trauma and Risky Behaviors: A Systematic Review

Weiss

Goncharenko

Mammay

et al. 2020

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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Introduction: Military sexual trauma (MST) is a serious and pervasive problem among military men and women. Recent findings have linked MST with various negative outcomes including risky, self-destructive, and health-compromising behaviors. Objective: The current review summarizes the existing literature on the association between MST and risky behaviors among military men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Method: We systematically searched five electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, PILOTS, and CINAHL Plus) using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: Of the initial 2,021 articles, 47 met the inclusion criteria. Reviewed studies revealed three patterns of findings: (1) largely studied and consistent (i.e., suicidal behaviors, disordered eating), (2) mixed and in need of future research (i.e., alcohol and drug use, smoking), and (3) underexamined (i.e., sexual behaviors, illegal/aggressive behaviors) or completely neglected (e.g., problematic technology use, gambling). Discussion: The current systematic review advances literature by providing strong support for an association between MST and a wide range of risky behaviors. Moreover, it highlights important areas for future research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Military Sexual Trauma and Risky Behaviors: A Systematic Review

Weiss

Goncharenko

Mammay

et al. 2020

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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show abstract

“…We are aware of only a few previous studies on this topic. For example, Griffith (2019) showed an association between workplace sexual harassment and suicide attempts in the US,27 and Jin et al (2018) showed an association with self-harm in Taiwan 28. However, both of these studies included military personnel only, used a cross sectional design, and studied only suicide attempts and not suicide.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work related sexual harassment and risk of suicide and suicide attempts: prospective cohort study

Hanson

Nyberg

Mittendorfer‐Rutz

et al. 2020

BMJ

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Objective To analyse the relation between exposure to workplace sexual harassment and suicide, as well as suicide attempts. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Sweden. Participants 86 451 men and women of working age in paid work across different occupations responded to a self-report questionnaire including exposure to work related sexual harassment between 1995 and 2013. The analytical sample included 85 205 people with valid data on sexual harassment, follow-up time, and age. Main outcome measures Suicide and suicide attempts ascertained from administrative registers (mean follow-up time 13 years). Results Among the people included in the respective analyses of suicide and suicide attempts, 125 (0.1%) died from suicide and 816 (1%) had a suicide attempt during follow-up (rate 0.1 and 0.8 cases per 1000 person years). Overall, 11 of 4095 participants exposed to workplace sexual harassment and 114 of 81 110 unexposed participants committed suicide, and 61/4043 exposed and 755/80 513 unexposed participants had a record of suicide attempt. In Cox regression analyses adjusted for a range of sociodemographic characteristics, workplace sexual harassment was associated with an excess risk of both suicide (hazard ratio 2.82, 95% confidence interval 1.49 to 5.34) and suicide attempts (1.59, 1.21 to 2.08), and risk estimates remained significantly increased after adjustment for baseline health and certain work characteristics. No obvious differences between men and women were found. Conclusions The results support the hypothesis that workplace sexual harassment is prospectively associated with suicidal behaviour. This suggests that suicide prevention considering the social work environment may be useful. More research is, however, needed to determine causality, risk factors for workplace sexual harassment, and explanations for an association between work related sexual harassment and suicidal behaviour.

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“…The rates of sexual harassment among military women are well-established (Department of Defense, 2019; Morral & Gore, 2017), as are the associations between sexual harassment and negative outcomes, which include poorer physical health (Street et al, 2008), depression (Street et al, 2008), anxiety (Murdoch & Nicol, 1995), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Street et al, 2013), problematic alcohol use (Gradus, et al, 2013), and suicidality (Griffith, 2019; Khan et al, 2019). Less is known about variables that may explain these associations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral Injury as a Mediator of the Associations Between Sexual Harassment and Mental Health Symptoms and Substance Use Among Women Veterans

Hamrick

Ehlke²,

Davies

et al. 2021

J Interpers Violence

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Moral injury is an array of symptoms theorized to develop in response to morally injurious events, defined as events that challenge one’s core moral beliefs and expectations about the self, others, and world. Recent measures of moral injury have distinguished self-directed moral injury (e.g., moral injury symptoms that emerge following the perpetration of morally injurious events) from other-directed moral injury, the symptoms of which are believed to stem from one’s response to actions that others have committed (e.g., within-rank violence, failures of leadership, and acts of betrayal committed by trusted others or institutions). Using a convenience sample of 154 primarily former military women, the present study examined if other-directed moral injury symptoms (e.g., anger, betrayal, and mistrust) associated with military experience would mediate the association between military sexual harassment and mental health and substance abuse symptoms. Results demonstrated that 85.8% ( n = 127) of the of this sample of women veterans reported experiencing sexual harassment during their military service. Using a single mediation model, we further demonstrated that other-directed moral injury mediated the association between sexual harassment experience and mental health symptoms. Given the percentage of women veterans who reported sexual harassment, these results suggest that additional training for military members, and particularly, military leaders, is necessary to begin to reduce sexual harassment. In addition, mental health providers who work with current and former military members should consider how other-directed moral injury may be associated with mental health symptoms among women veterans who have experienced sexual harassment while in the military.

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The Sexual Harassment–Suicide Connection in the U.S. Military: Contextual Effects of Hostile Work Environment and Trusted Unit Leaders

Cited by 14 publications

References 38 publications

Military Sexual Trauma and Risky Behaviors: A Systematic Review

Military Sexual Trauma and Risky Behaviors: A Systematic Review

Work related sexual harassment and risk of suicide and suicide attempts: prospective cohort study

Moral Injury as a Mediator of the Associations Between Sexual Harassment and Mental Health Symptoms and Substance Use Among Women Veterans

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