UCF RESTORES & Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
J Affect Disord. 2021 Sep 1;292:424-429. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.05.074. Epub 2021 Jun 4.
Identifying and enhancing protective beliefs is essential in reducing suicide risk among military-affiliated individuals. The goal of this study was to examine if specific reasons for living impact the relationship between PTSD and suicidal cognitions among military-affiliated individuals in primary care settings.
Participants included 2,685 U.S. military personnel and their adult beneficiaries recruited from primary care clinics. Participants completed the Primary Care Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screen, Suicide Cognitions Scale, and Brief Reasons for Living Inventory.
Responsibility to family and survival and coping beliefs-were related to suicidal cognitions with higher levels associated with less suicidal cognitions and a weaker relationship between PTSD and suicidal cognitions. By contrast, fear of suicide and fear of social disapproval were associated with more suicidal cognitions, and the link between positive PTSD screen and suicidal cognitions was stronger for individuals with higher levels of fear of social disapproval. Moral objection did not predict suicidal cognitions and did not moderate the relationship between PTSD and suicidal cognitions.
The limitations of the study include that measures were done in primary care and brief screeners were often used. Additionally, the study is cross-sectional in nature, whereas some of the symptoms and outcome variables likely fluctuate over time.
Findings suggest not all reasons for living are not equally influential and, among military-affiliated individuals with a positive PTSD screen, bolstering reasons for living related to responsibility to family and survival and coping skills could be particularly impactful in reducing suicide cognitions.
在降低与军队有关的个人的自杀风险中，识别和增强保护信念至关重要。本研究的目的是检验特定的生存理由是否会影响初级保健环境中与军队有关的个体的 PTSD 与自杀观念之间的关系。
参与者包括 2685 名来自初级保健诊所的美国军人及其成年受益人。参与者完成了初级保健创伤后应激障碍筛查、自杀观念量表和简要生存理由清单。
对家庭的责任和生存与应对信念与自杀观念有关，较高的水平与较低的自杀观念和 PTSD 与自杀观念之间的关系较弱有关。相比之下，对自杀的恐惧和对社会不赞成的恐惧与更多的自杀观念有关，对社会不赞成的恐惧程度较高的个体，积极的 PTSD 筛查与自杀观念之间的联系更强。道德反对并不预测自杀观念，也不能调节 PTSD 与自杀观念之间的关系。
该研究的局限性包括措施是在初级保健中进行的，并且经常使用简短的筛查器。此外，该研究本质上是横断面的，而一些症状和结果变量可能随时间波动。
研究结果表明，并非所有的生存理由都没有同等的影响力，在 PTSD 阳性的与军队有关的个体中，增强与家庭责任和生存及应对技能有关的生存理由，可能特别有助于减少自杀观念。
