Due to the role of the US in international politics, American soldiers continue to participate in wars and armed conflicts. Experiencing combat is a huge stress, and anyone, even a trained person, will most likely feel the effects of this stress in civilian life. Today many governmentally financed healthcare programs support veterans having PTSD or suicidal thoughts. This paper aims to discuss the factors affecting suicidal tendencies among veterans.
Suicidal tendencies or obsessive thoughts are associated with several factors that can increase negative tendencies. Scientists note that “post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression (MDD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) increase the risk of suicidal behavior in veterans” (Wilks et al., 2019, p. 139). Equally important, anger and social support influence the level of suicidality. In other words, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts are not entirely subjective. On the contrary, veterans, who, due to the responsibilities of their profession, are inclined to serve others and self-sacrifice, can fall into depressive states due to social or family influences.
Understanding this has led to studying the impact of social determinants of health on suicide risk among veterans. Blosnich et al. (2020) emphasize that “adverse social determinants of health (SDH) are strong predictors of suicide risk” (p. 1759). Therefore, scientists insist on the need to include SDH data in the EHR. Equally important, scholars determined that each additional SDH factor increased the odds of suicidal thoughts by 67% (Blosnich et al., 2020). In other words, scientists have proven a very strong connection between patients’ environment and their mental health. This means that using health and social support services is essential.
The low levels of getting social support and healthcare services are another important topic. Nichter et al. (2020) note that “more than 3 out of 5 US veterans who sustain suicidal thoughts do not receive mental health treatment” (p. 61). The researchers emphasize the importance of trust in healthcare facilities and the influence of factors such as younger age, female gender, current depression, lifetime suicide attempts, traumas, and medical problems on treatment utilization. People who are more likely to recognize their weakness and vulnerability, such as women and younger veterans, and people with a higher level of trust in medical professionals, were more likely to seek help. Such findings highlight the importance of trust in healthcare providers and determine the direction for social programs that should consider tendencies toward mistrust and withdrawal.
Scientists studied the relationship between PTSD and suicide risks and found conflicting evidence. They noticed the significance of the non-PTSD factors, such as concomitant psychiatric pathologies (Holliday et al., 2020). Equally interesting, researchers discovered low awareness of suicide prevention programs among veterans (Tsai et al., 2020). The lack of information led to low levels of using crisis hotlines, referrals to veterans’ support centers, the Center for Suicide Prevention, and attendance at community events. This means that low awareness is a widespread problem that must be addressed by the initiators of social support and healthcare programs.
Thus, factors affecting suicidal tendencies among veterans were discussed. Social determinants of health are among the most significant influencing factors, while PTSD did not have the expected weight in determining suicide risks. Interestingly, younger veterans, women, and those with previous mental or other illnesses are more likely to seek medical help. At the same time, scientists record a generally low awareness and involvement in support programs.
References
Blosnich, J. R., Montgomery, A. E., Dichter, M. E., Gordon, A. J., Kavalieratos, D., Taylor, L., & Bossarte, R. M. (2020). Social determinants and military veterans’ suicide ideation and attempt: a cross-sectional analysis of electronic health record data. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(6), 1759-1767.
Holliday, R., Borges, L. M., Stearns-Yoder, K. A., Hoffberg, A. S., Brenner, L. A., & Monteith, L. L. (2020). Posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, and suicidal self-directed violence among US military personnel and veterans: A systematic review of the literature from 2010 to 2018. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1998.
Nichter, B., Hill, M., Norman, S., Haller, M., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2020). Mental health treatment utilization among US military veterans with suicidal ideation: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 130, 61-67.
Tsai, J., Snitkin, M., Trevisan, L., Kraus, S. W., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2020). Awareness of suicide prevention programs among US military veterans. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 47(1), 115-125.
Wilks, C. R., Morland, L. A., Dillon, K. H., Mackintosh, M. A., Blakey, S. M., Wagner, H. R., & Elbogen, E. B. (2019). Anger, social support, and suicide risk in US military veterans. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 109, 139-144.