Gender Differences in Military Psychiatric Inpatients Admitted for Suicide Ideation

Abstract

Abstract : Suicide ideation (SI) is a risk factor for suicide and may manifest differently in men and women. SI can be accompanied with varying levels of intent to die. Most often, the accepted clinical practice for the management of individuals with SI and imminent intent to die is psychiatric hospitalization. Yet, there is minimal research on the characteristics of this patient population and potential gender differences, particularly in the U.S. Military, despite the recent increase in this problem with the active duty community. Purpose: This investigation was designed to address three objectives: (1) describe the demographic, military service, and psychiatric history variables in a sample of active-duty Service Members hospitalized for SI; (2) examine gender differences across a number of available data categories; and (3) identify mediators of the relationship between gender and length of hospitalization.