An Examination of United States Air Force Suicide Decedents Based on Documented Suicide Attempt Histories

• Published in: Archives of suicide research 2017-10, Vol.21 (4), p.556-567
• Main Authors: Kochanski-Ruscio, Kristen, Nademin, Elicia, Perera, Kanchana, LaCroix, Jessica M., Baer, Margaret, Hassen, Helena O., Englert, Maj David, Ghahramanlou-Holloway, Marjan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Air force; Death & dying; Demography; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Medical diagnosis; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; military; Military Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Prevention programs; Psychosocial factors; Risk Factors; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Suicide; Suicide - statistics & numerical data; suicide death; Suicide prevention; suicide risk factor; Suicide, Attempted - statistics & numerical data; Suicides & suicide attempts; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1381-1118; 1543-6136
• DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2016.1240635

In this study, we compared United States military decedents who died by suicide on their first attempt with decedents who had made multiple attempts. Death investigation files for 217 United States Air Force (USAF) personnel who died by suicide between 1996 and 2006 were coded for demographic, psychosocial, and psychiatric characteristics. Among USAF suicide decedents, 77% died by suicide on their first attempt and 23% had a documented history of at least one prior attempt. Decedents with a history of prior attempts were more likely to have an interpersonal stressor within 3 months of death and were twice as likely to have a documented Axis I diagnosis. There were few differences between military suicide decedents based on history of prior attempts. Further research is needed to inform military suicide prevention endeavors.