Citation

Bryan CJ, McNaugton-Cassill M, Osman A, Hernandez AM. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2013; 43(2): 223-234.

Affiliation

National Center for Veterans Studies, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/sltb.12011

PMID

23330584

Abstract

The associations of various forms of sexual and physical assault with a history of suicide attempts and recent suicide ideation were studied in two distinct samples: active duty military and undergraduate students. A total of 273 active duty Air Force personnel and 309 undergraduate students anonymously completed self-report surveys of assault victimization, emotional distress, belongingness, recent suicide ideation, and previous suicide attempts. Among military personnel, rape, robbery, or violent assault was associated with a nonsignificant trend toward increased risk for suicide attempts, whereas physical abuse or battering as an adult was significantly associated with recent suicide ideation. Among undergraduates, unwanted sexual experiences as an adult and physical or sexual abuse as a child were significantly associated with increased risk for suicide attempt, but only unwanted experiences as an adult was significantly associated with increased risk for suicide ideation. Experiencing multiple forms of assault increased risk for suicide attempts and ideation in both groups. Results suggest that different types of assault contribute differentially to suicide risk in military versus undergraduate populations, but experiencing multiple types of assault is associated with increased risk in both groups.

Language: en