Work

The Link between Deployment-Related Injuries and Suicidal Thinking in the Army National Guard: Examining the Role of Perceived Burdensomeness and Hopelessness

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: In 2020, Army National Guard members demonstrated greater risk of suicide than their military and civilian counterparts. Though literature on deployment-related experiences and suicidal ideation (SI) is mixed, investigations of specific deployment-related experiences (e.g., injuries) may further elucidate the relationship between deployment and suicide risk. Deployment-related injuries, including pain severity and functional impairment, have been linked to increased risk of SI, and correlates like perceived burdensomeness (PB) and hopelessness. The current study sought to examine the cross-sectional relationship between deployment-related injuries, including pain severity and functional impairment, and severity of SI through PB and hopelessness. METHOD: = 2,261) completed validated self-report measures on past-week SI, PB, hopelessness, and single items regarding injury sustained during deployment and associated functional impairment and pain severity. RESULTS: = .1993), functional impairment was related to SI through PB, and pain severity was related to SI through PB. Contrary to hypotheses, hopelessness was not associated with SI when PB was simultaneously considered. CONCLUSIONS: Army National Guard members who develop a sense of PB related to their injury and functional impairment of that injury may be at increased risk for suicidal ideation. Military suicide-prevention efforts may be potentiated through targeting distorted cognitions such as PB and hopelessness, especially in service members who have been injured.

Source: Archives of Suicide Research

DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2023.2270667