Hom Melanie A, Stanley Ian H, Gutierrez Peter M, Joiner Thomas E
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, United States.
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, United States.
J Affect Disord. 2017 Jan 1;207:327-335. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.09.043. Epub 2016 Sep 28.
Past research suggests that suicide has a profound impact on surviving family members and friends; yet, little is known about experiences with suicide bereavement among military populations. This study aimed to characterize experiences with suicide exposure and their associations with lifetime and current psychiatric symptoms among military service members and veterans.
A sample of 1753 United States military service members and veterans completed self-report questionnaires assessing experiences with suicide exposure, lifetime history of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, current suicidal symptoms, and perceived likelihood of making a future suicide attempt.
The majority of participants (57.3%) reported knowing someone who had died by suicide, and of these individuals, most (53.1%) reported having lost a friend to suicide. Chi-square tests, one-way ANOVAs, and logistic regression analyses revealed that those who reported knowing a suicide decedent were more likely to report more severe current suicidal symptoms and a history of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to those who did not know a suicide decedent. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that greater self-reported interpersonal closeness to a suicide decedent predicted greater self-reported likelihood of a future suicide attempt, even after controlling for current suicidal symptoms and prior suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
This study utilized cross-sectional data, and information regarding degree of exposure to suicide was not collected.
Military personnel and veterans who have been bereaved by suicide may themselves be at elevated risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Additional work is needed to delineate the relationship between these experiences.
以往研究表明，自杀对幸存的家庭成员和朋友有深远影响；然而，对于军人群体中经历自杀丧亲之痛的情况却知之甚少。本研究旨在描述军人和退伍军人接触自杀事件的经历及其与终生和当前精神症状的关联。
1753名美国军人和退伍军人的样本完成了自我报告问卷，评估自杀接触经历、自杀想法和行为的终生史、当前自杀症状以及未来自杀企图的感知可能性。
大多数参与者（57.3%）报告认识死于自杀的人，在这些人中，大多数（53.1%）报告因自杀失去了朋友。卡方检验、单因素方差分析和逻辑回归分析显示，与不认识自杀死者的人相比，报告认识自杀死者的人更有可能报告当前更严重的自杀症状以及自杀想法和行为的历史。分层线性回归分析表明，即使在控制了当前自杀症状以及先前的自杀想法和行为之后，自我报告与自杀死者的人际亲密度越高，预测未来自杀企图的自我报告可能性就越大。
本研究使用的是横断面数据，未收集关于自杀接触程度的信息。
因自杀而失去亲人的军人和退伍军人自身可能有更高的自杀想法和行为风险。需要开展更多工作来阐明这些经历之间的关系。
