Citation

Mehlum L. Mil. Med. 1992; 157(11): 574-577.

Affiliation

Research Section, HQ Defence Command Norway, Oslo.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1470348

Abstract

What characterizes the presuicidal phase of suicide attempters in a military population? And what precipitates their suicidal action? These questions were investigated in a sample of 112 male suicide-attempting conscripts serving in the Norwegian Armed Forces. One-half of the subjects had shown behavioral signs such as isolation or aggression, over 80% displayed psychiatric symptoms. A majority verbally expressed their psychic problems, but few had explicitly stated suicidal ideas. Two major clusters of suicide precipitants were identified. Loss traumas were recorded in one-third of cases, some sort of conflict situation in 40% of cases. Implications for suicide preventive measures are discussed.

Language: en