Williamson Charlotte, Busuttil Walter, Simms Amos, Palmer Laura, Stevelink Sharon A M, Sharp Marie-Louise
King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, UK.
Research Department, Combat Stress, Leatherhead, UK.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2025 Dec;16(1):2480990. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2480990. Epub 2025 Apr 4.
A substantial proportion of UK military personnel experiencing mental health problems do not seek professional support. Although the promotion of help-seeking is a key suicide prevention strategy, little is known about help-seeking for self-harm and suicidal behaviours among the UK Armed Forces. This study aimed to explore UK ex-serving personnel's experiences of seeking help for self-harm, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Participants were recruited via an existing longitudinal cohort study exploring the health and well-being of the UK Armed Forces. A subgroup of ex-serving personnel reporting lifetime self-harm and/or suicidal behaviours was invited to participate in semi-structured interviews and 15 individuals participated, representing help-seekers/non-help-seekers and formal/informal support. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five distinct but related and interacting themes were developed: (1) military mindset; (2) stigma; (3) fear of consequences; (4) access to and awareness of support; and (5) facilitators to help-seeking. Help-seeking decisions and experiences were influenced by several barriers and facilitators. Providing an environment where military populations feel willing and able to access support for self-harm and suicidal behaviours could lessen the impact on their health and well-being and ultimately save lives.
在英国，有相当一部分心理健康出现问题的军事人员并未寻求专业帮助。尽管鼓励寻求帮助是预防自杀的一项关键策略，但对于英国武装部队中自我伤害及自杀行为的求助情况却知之甚少。本研究旨在探究英国退役军人在寻求针对自我伤害、自杀意念及自杀未遂行为的帮助时的经历。参与者是通过一项现有的纵向队列研究招募而来，该研究旨在探究英国武装部队人员的健康与福祉状况。邀请了一个报告有终身自我伤害和/或自杀行为的退役军人亚组参与半结构化访谈，共有15人参与，他们代表了求助者/未求助者以及正式/非正式支持情况。访谈采用反思性主题分析法进行分析。研究形成了五个不同但相互关联且相互作用的主题：（1）军人思维模式；（2）耻辱感；（3）对后果的恐惧；（4）获得支持的途径及对支持的认知；（5）寻求帮助的促进因素。寻求帮助的决定和经历受到多种障碍及促进因素的影响。营造一种让军人愿意且能够就自我伤害和自杀行为寻求支持的环境，可能会减轻这些行为对他们健康和福祉的影响，并最终挽救生命。
