School of Nursing, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
Mil Psychol. 2024 Jul 3;36(4):443-455. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2023.2204790. Epub 2023 Jun 1.
Active service members and Veterans with a combat-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) are four times more likely to attempt suicide than those without a TBI. TBIs are the signature injuries of the Post-9/11 conflicts and Combat Veterans (i.e., current and former service members who deployed in support of a combat mission) with these injuries are entitled to receive the Purple Heart medal. However, potentially tens of thousands of Combat Veterans did not receive, or were denied the Purple Heart during the first decade of the Global War on Terrorism because a TBI was not documented during the deployment. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the meaning of the Purple Heart and examine the impact of the Purple Heart on Army Combat Veterans with a combat-related TBI. Findings from this mixed methods study revealed that not receiving the Purple Heart is associated with increased suicide risk and lower quality of life after a brain injury. Additionally, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and perceived military institutional betrayal are associated with increased suicide risk in Army Combat Veterans with a TBI. This mixed methods study provides important insights into how Army culture is perceived and the power of the Purple Heart among this high-risk group of Combat Veterans.
患有与战斗相关的创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 的现役军人和退伍军人自杀的可能性是没有 TBI 的人的四倍。TBI 是 9/11 后冲突和战斗退伍军人（即部署支持战斗任务的现役和前军人）的标志性伤害，这些退伍军人有权获得紫心勋章。然而，在全球反恐战争的第一个十年中，可能有成千上万的战斗退伍军人没有获得或被拒绝紫心勋章，因为在部署期间没有记录 TBI。据我们所知，这是第一项探讨紫心勋章意义并研究其对患有与战斗相关 TBI 的陆军战斗退伍军人影响的研究。这项混合方法研究的结果表明，未获得紫心勋章与自杀风险增加和脑损伤后生活质量下降有关。此外，归属感受挫、被认为是负担和被认为是军事机构背叛与 TBI 战斗退伍军人的自杀风险增加有关。这项混合方法研究提供了重要的见解，了解了陆军文化是如何被感知的，以及紫心勋章在这群高风险战斗退伍军人中的力量。
