Suicide among War Veterans

Vsevolod Rozanov,Vladimir Carli

doi:10.3390/ijerph9072504

Abstract

Studies aiming to identify if war veterans are at higher risk of suicide have often produced inconsistent results; this could be due to the complexity of comparisons and different methodological approaches. It should be noted that this contingent has many risk factors, such as stressful exposures, wounds, brain trauma and pain syndrome. Most recent observations confirm that veterans are really more likely to die of suicide as compared to the general population; they are also more likely to experience suicidal ideation and suffer from mental health problems. Suicides are more frequent in those who develop PTSD, depression and comorbid states due to war exposure. Combat stress and its’ frequency may be an important factor leading to suicide within the frame of the stress-vulnerability model. According to this model, the effects of stress may interact with social factors, interpersonal relations and psychological variables producing suicidal tendencies. Modern understanding of stress-vulnerability mechanisms based on genetic predispositions, early life development, level of exposure to stress and stress-reactivity together with interpersonal aspects may help to build more effective suicide prevention programs based on universal/selective/indicated prevention principles.

Highlights

When discussing suicides in specific occupational or social groups, several main questions usually arise: (1) are representatives of the specific group at higher risk of suicide compared to the rest of population?; (2) are there any specific features of environmental or social processes within these groups, which may impact suicide rates?; (3) can targeted prevention programs be implemented within this framework and is it possible to improve its potential efficacy?In this review, we are aiming to better understand the potential risk factors and pathways leading to suicides among war veterans
Though suicides in the military have been depicted for centuries, suicide among retired war veterans started to attract more attention in the USA shortly after the Vietnam War [23,24]
Initial studies in this field have not confirmed higher suicide rates in this group; it has been noted that males, who have been at war, tend to commit suicide at a younger age compared to the general population

Summary

Introduction

We are aiming to better understand the potential risk factors and pathways leading to suicides among war veterans. It must be noted that war veterans constitute only a part of the general heterogeneous veterans’ population. This more general contingent may be at higher risk too, and after persons are discharged from the military, it is important to access the psychosocial implications upon returning to civilian status. On the other hand combat stress and being directly in a war zone, as can be seen further, seems to play the most important role

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Conclusion