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Citation
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Dempsey CL, Benedek DM, Nock MK, Zuromski KL, Brent DA, Ao J, Aliaga PA, Heeringa SG, Kessler RC, Stein MB, Ursano RJ. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: We tested the aspects of social support, unit cohesion, and religiosity hypothesized to be protective factors for suicide among U.S. service members.
METHODS: This case-control study compared U.S. Army soldiers who died by suicide while on active duty (n = 135) to controls of two types: those propensity score-matched on known sociodemographic risk factors (n = 128); and those controls who had thought about, but not died by, suicide in the past year (n = 108). Data included structured interviews of next of kin (NOK) and Army supervisors (SUP) for each case and control soldier. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine predictors of suicide.
RESULTS: Perceived social closeness and seeking help from others were associated with decreased odds of suicide, as reported by SUP (OR = 0.2 [95% CI = 0.1, 0.5]) and NOK (OR = 0.4 [95% CI = 0.2, 0.8]). Novel reports by SUP informants of high levels of unit cohesion/morale decreased odds of suicide (OR = 0.1 [95% CI = 0.0, 0.2]). Contrary to study hypotheses, no religious affiliation was associated with lower odds of suicide (OR = 0.3 [95% CI = 0.2, 0.6]).
CONCLUSIONS: Perceived social closeness and unit/group cohesion are associated with lower odds of suicide. These results point toward social intervention strategies as testable components of suicide prevention programs.
Language: en |