Citation

Oakey-Frost N, Trachik B, Ganulin ML, LoPresti ML, Dretsch MN, Tucker RP. Mil. Psychol. 2022; 34(3): 305-314.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/08995605.2021.1902180

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The suicide rate within the military continues to rise. New approaches for prevention are needed which capitalize on existing strengths, are scalable at multiple levels, and promote mental fortitude. Healthy eating (HE) and physical activity (PA) represent scalable practices and methods for promoting mental health and protective factors within the military. A cross-sectional sample of N = 1019 active-duty Soldiers completed self-report measures of HE, PA, major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms, and suicidal ideation (SI). Moderated mediation analyses using bootstrapping techniques were used to determine if HE and PA interact to relate to lower SI through reduced psychological health (PH) symptoms.

RESULTS indicated an indirect effect of HE on presence versus absence of past month SI through GAD symptoms at moderate-to-high levels of cardiovascular PA. A similar pattern was demonstrated for strength training PA where HE had an indirect effect on past month SI through GAD symptoms at only high levels of strength training PA. HE was indirectly related to lower MDD symptoms at all levels of cardiovascular PA and moderate to high levels of strength training PA. Study limitations and implications for secondary suicide prevention strategies within the military are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

depression; diet; exercise; physical activity; Suicide