Hoyt Tim, Richter Kenneth, Saitzyk Arlene, Long Stephanie, Lippy Robert, Kennedy Carrie H
Psychological Health Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
Headquarters Marine Corps, Health Services, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Mil Psychol. 2021 Apr 26;34(3):335-344. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2021.1897497. eCollection 2022.
US Navy suicide is an ongoing concern, with more than half of suicide deaths each year related to firearms. Although decreasing firearms access by those who are at risk for suicide has been well-established as a tactic for reducing risk, implementation of firearms restrictions has a significant cultural and occupational impact among service members that may increase the stigma of seeking mental health care. During a recent Deep Dive review of all previous year suicide deaths, subject matter experts from across the US Navy identified significant variability in command utilization of firearms restriction.
Based on this finding, a review was conducted to identify best practice for firearms restriction related to suicide risk across the US military services and municipal police departments.
Findings from this review suggested that the Department of the Navy may benefit from adopting consistent standards for disarming and rearming service members at risk for suicide, base decisions on objective suicide risk rather than routine stressors, decrease access primarily when service members are off duty, and engage with service members to decrease core drivers of suicide behavior through command channels.
Implementing these recommendations may be a crucial step in balancing precautions to decrease suicide risk with the stigma of firearms restriction in military settings.
美国海军自杀问题一直令人担忧，每年超过一半的自杀死亡与枪支有关。尽管减少有自杀风险者获取枪支已被确认为降低风险的一种策略，但实施枪支限制在军人中会产生重大的文化和职业影响，这可能会增加寻求心理健康护理的耻辱感。在最近对前一年所有自杀死亡事件的深入审查中，来自美国海军各领域的专家发现，各司令部在枪支限制的运用上存在显著差异。
基于这一发现，开展了一项审查，以确定美国各军种和市政警察部门在与自杀风险相关的枪支限制方面的最佳做法。
此次审查的结果表明，海军部可能会受益于采用一致的标准，对有自杀风险的军人进行解除武装和重新武装，基于客观的自杀风险而非日常压力因素做出决策，主要在军人非执勤时减少其获取枪支的机会，并通过司令部渠道与军人接触，以减少自杀行为的核心驱动因素。
实施这些建议可能是在军事环境中平衡降低自杀风险的预防措施与枪支限制耻辱感方面的关键一步。
