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What's Changed? A Comparison of Army Suicide Surveillance Data to Cases from 1975 to 1982
Author(s) -
Reger Mark A.,
Reger Greg M.,
Krieg Christina,
Pruitt Larry,
Smolenski Derek J.,
Skopp Nancy A.,
Bush Nigel
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/sltb.12322
Subject(s) - suicide prevention , poison control , occupational safety and health , injury prevention , suicide rates , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , mental health , medical emergency , demography , environmental health , psychology , psychiatry , sociology , pathology
US Army suicide rates increased significantly in the last decade and have remained high. To inform future research hypotheses, Army suicide surveillance data (2012–2014) were compared to similar Army data for suicides from 1975 to 1982. Preliminary data suggest that suicide rates increased across most demographic groups, but may have decreased among divorced soldiers. Mental health utilization increased over time. Legal problems and physical health problems were identified in a higher percentage of cases in the recent data relative to the 1975–1982 era. Potential implications for suicide prevention are discussed.