Military suicides up big time

[waltky]

Army tryin' to predict which soldiers are likely to try to commit suicide...

US Army tries to identify soldiers most likely to commit suicide
November 13, 2014 ~ The U.S. Army has a new analytical tool that officials hope will counter a surge in suicides by identifying soldiers whose history, age and injuries indicate they are at high risk of taking their own lives.

In an analysis involving all 40,820 U.S. soldiers hospitalized for psychiatric problems during a six-year period, researchers created an algorithm to identify some of the Army personnel most likely to commit suicide. Sixty-eight of the soldiers killed themselves within a year of hospitalization. More than half those suicides occurred among the 1,947 soldiers whose health histories and other characteristics gathered from Army records placed them in the algorithm’s highest risk group.

Ronald Kessler, a Harvard University sociologist and suicide expert who led the study — published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry — said the statistical model could be used to target suicide prevention efforts. “We saw quite a few people who killed themselves within six weeks of getting out of the hospital without any follow-up visit,” he said. In the six years covered in the study — 2004 to 2009 — the annual suicide rate in the Army was 18.5 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. The rate among soldiers hospitalized for psychiatric problems was more than 14 times that. Within that group, the researchers wanted to see whether they could home in on those at greatest risk.

Computers combed through 421 variables on each soldier drawn from 38 military data systems. Using a method known as “machine learning,” the researchers identified roughly two dozen factors that proved most important. The soldiers most likely to take their own lives were men with past suicidal behavior and a history of psychiatric disorders and criminal offenses, including weapons possession and verbal assaults. Soldiers with hearing loss also faced heightened risk — a strong indicator that they had suffered a head injury. So did enlisting in the Army after age 27, most likely because those soldiers had already experienced trouble finding their way in life.

In all, the 5 percent of soldiers identified as highest-risk accounted for 36 of the 68 suicides and had an annual rate of 3,824 suicides per 100,000 — more than 200 times the overall rate in the Army. Rates of accidental deaths and suicide attempts were also significantly greater among the 1,947 soldiers in the high-risk group. Seven died in accidents and 555 made a suicide attempt within a year of hospitalization. The Army has put in place an array of suicide-prevention programs, but most were applied broadly to all personnel, said Dr. Eric Schoomaker, who served as surgeon general of the Army until 2012. The new research will allow the Army to focus on soldiers at greatest risk, Schoomaker said.

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Study: Indirect link between combat and suicide risk
July 19, 2014 ~ One of the first comprehensive efforts to explain record suicides among soldiers during and after their deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan finds an indirect link between deployment, combat and self-destructive urges, according to a paper published Thursday.

The two scientists who conducted the study — one of them a former Army research director — argue that high rates of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder flowing out of the combat experience can lead to suicidal behavior. The illnesses can lead to a sense of burdening others and social isolation. Add to this loss of personal relationships a familiarity with firearms, and the resulting toxic stew can drive suicides among troops and veterans. The paper published online in Current Psychiatric Reports surmises that this could help explain an astonishing rate of 22 veterans committing suicide each day, as estimated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Suicides among Army active-duty soldiers reached an historic high of 185 in 2012 or a rate of nearly 30 deaths per 100,000, triple the Army rate of 2004 and double what is reported among civilians.

While the number of Army suicides among active duty soldiers declined in 2013 by 19%, suicides among Army National Guard and reservists reached a record 151 in 2013. "It's best to view the increase in military suicides as a result of an increase in mental health issues of service members driven in large part, but not entirely, (by) combat and deployment experiences," wrote the authors, retired Col. Carl Castro, former director of psychological health research for the Army, and researcher Sara Kintzle, both with the University of Southern California. They note, however, that there is no specific reason scientists can cite with absolute certainty to explain the rise in military suicides. But they note that just ahead of increased suicides was a surge in mental problems in the military. Hospitalizations for depression doubled, increased by five-fold for substance and 10-fold for PTSD.

A sense of hopelessness and being a burden, plus the loss or straining of relationships can occur during crucial life transitions, the authors says, such as returning from combat. leaving the military or growing old. "What former service members in both vulnerable age groups share is that they are experiencing a period of transition," the authors write. This is when the worst problems can occur for those already struggling with poor mental health, they say. They called upon both the Pentagon and the VA to do a better job of assisting troubled veterans through crucial periods of transition. "The majority of veterans find purpose and meaning in their military service. It can be a struggle to find that same sense of purpose as a civilian which may ultimately lead to feelings of despair," the paper says.

Study Indirect link between combat and suicide risk - U.S. - Stripes

 

[Cross]

Army tryin' to predict which soldiers are likely to try to commit suicide...

US Army tries to identify soldiers most likely to commit suicide
November 13, 2014 ~ The U.S. Army has a new analytical tool that officials hope will counter a surge in suicides by identifying soldiers whose history, age and injuries indicate they are at high risk of taking their own lives.

In an analysis involving all 40,820 U.S. soldiers hospitalized for psychiatric problems during a six-year period, researchers created an algorithm to identify some of the Army personnel most likely to commit suicide. Sixty-eight of the soldiers killed themselves within a year of hospitalization. More than half those suicides occurred among the 1,947 soldiers whose health histories and other characteristics gathered from Army records placed them in the algorithm’s highest risk group.

Ronald Kessler, a Harvard University sociologist and suicide expert who led the study — published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry — said the statistical model could be used to target suicide prevention efforts. “We saw quite a few people who killed themselves within six weeks of getting out of the hospital without any follow-up visit,” he said. In the six years covered in the study — 2004 to 2009 — the annual suicide rate in the Army was 18.5 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. The rate among soldiers hospitalized for psychiatric problems was more than 14 times that. Within that group, the researchers wanted to see whether they could home in on those at greatest risk.

Computers combed through 421 variables on each soldier drawn from 38 military data systems. Using a method known as “machine learning,” the researchers identified roughly two dozen factors that proved most important. The soldiers most likely to take their own lives were men with past suicidal behavior and a history of psychiatric disorders and criminal offenses, including weapons possession and verbal assaults. Soldiers with hearing loss also faced heightened risk — a strong indicator that they had suffered a head injury. So did enlisting in the Army after age 27, most likely because those soldiers had already experienced trouble finding their way in life.

In all, the 5 percent of soldiers identified as highest-risk accounted for 36 of the 68 suicides and had an annual rate of 3,824 suicides per 100,000 — more than 200 times the overall rate in the Army. Rates of accidental deaths and suicide attempts were also significantly greater among the 1,947 soldiers in the high-risk group. Seven died in accidents and 555 made a suicide attempt within a year of hospitalization. The Army has put in place an array of suicide-prevention programs, but most were applied broadly to all personnel, said Dr. Eric Schoomaker, who served as surgeon general of the Army until 2012. The new research will allow the Army to focus on soldiers at greatest risk, Schoomaker said.

MORE

See also:

Study: Indirect link between combat and suicide risk
July 19, 2014 ~ One of the first comprehensive efforts to explain record suicides among soldiers during and after their deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan finds an indirect link between deployment, combat and self-destructive urges, according to a paper published Thursday.

The two scientists who conducted the study — one of them a former Army research director — argue that high rates of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder flowing out of the combat experience can lead to suicidal behavior. The illnesses can lead to a sense of burdening others and social isolation. Add to this loss of personal relationships a familiarity with firearms, and the resulting toxic stew can drive suicides among troops and veterans. The paper published online in Current Psychiatric Reports surmises that this could help explain an astonishing rate of 22 veterans committing suicide each day, as estimated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Suicides among Army active-duty soldiers reached an historic high of 185 in 2012 or a rate of nearly 30 deaths per 100,000, triple the Army rate of 2004 and double what is reported among civilians.

While the number of Army suicides among active duty soldiers declined in 2013 by 19%, suicides among Army National Guard and reservists reached a record 151 in 2013. "It's best to view the increase in military suicides as a result of an increase in mental health issues of service members driven in large part, but not entirely, (by) combat and deployment experiences," wrote the authors, retired Col. Carl Castro, former director of psychological health research for the Army, and researcher Sara Kintzle, both with the University of Southern California. They note, however, that there is no specific reason scientists can cite with absolute certainty to explain the rise in military suicides. But they note that just ahead of increased suicides was a surge in mental problems in the military. Hospitalizations for depression doubled, increased by five-fold for substance and 10-fold for PTSD.

A sense of hopelessness and being a burden, plus the loss or straining of relationships can occur during crucial life transitions, the authors says, such as returning from combat. leaving the military or growing old. "What former service members in both vulnerable age groups share is that they are experiencing a period of transition," the authors write. This is when the worst problems can occur for those already struggling with poor mental health, they say. They called upon both the Pentagon and the VA to do a better job of assisting troubled veterans through crucial periods of transition. "The majority of veterans find purpose and meaning in their military service. It can be a struggle to find that same sense of purpose as a civilian which may ultimately lead to feelings of despair," the paper says.

Study Indirect link between combat and suicide risk - U.S. - Stripes

The Military should have gotten ahead of this, they had the assets, the VA not so many.... Good leadership was not in place when it was needed...It's not like it's a new phenomenon.

 

[whitehall]

There isn't much combat going on and KIA's are down to almost nothing so the suicide rate must have some other cause. Maybe the attitude of the administration or the tangled relationships when women are forced into combat roles. The absurd pregnancy rate on US warships might be a factor or even the dumb assed openly gay idiots who thought they could fashion skills in the Military.

 

[Cross]

There isn't much combat going on and KIA's are down to almost nothing so the suicide rate must have some other cause. Maybe the attitude of the administration or the tangled relationships when women are forced into combat roles. The absurd pregnancy rate on US warships might be a factor or even the dumb assed openly gay idiots who thought they could fashion skills in the Military.

It's a phenomenon that's part and parcel with high stress jobs with exposure to traumatic events and danger, police officers experience the same kind of suicide rates and clusters..there was a period of time during which the FBI experienced rates of 30 to 100,000....another problem is how they handle one, copy cat suicides are not that uncommon.its called the weather effect.

 

[whitehall]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

 

[Cross]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

So explain the rise in suicides?

 

[whitehall]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

So explain the rise in suicides?

I wish I could. It's possible that the military prescribes a lot more toxic stuff than the APC's we got when I was in. Psychotropic drugs that are widely prescribed to control behavior in schools might be toxic to the age group that characterizes the Military enlistees.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

So explain the rise in suicides?

You want the harsh truth?

Lowered standards

20 years ago a pussy would have been called a pussy and sent home from basic training, today they get a timeout card and can come back tomorrow when they are no longer sad.

So, it's easy to see. They used to cut those who would likely break and kill themselves out long before they ever went to war.

 

[Cross]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

So explain the rise in suicides?

You want the harsh truth?

Lowered standards

20 years ago a pussy would have been called a pussy and sent home from basic training, today they get a timeout card and can come back tomorrow when they are no longer sad.

So, it's easy to see. They used to cut those who would likely break and kill themselves out long before they ever went to war.

Vietnam Veteran rates were lower with draftees, even with the lower standards you speak of they aren't lower than that era.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

So explain the rise in suicides?

You want the harsh truth?

Lowered standards

20 years ago a pussy would have been called a pussy and sent home from basic training, today they get a timeout card and can come back tomorrow when they are no longer sad.

So, it's easy to see. They used to cut those who would likely break and kill themselves out long before they ever went to war.

Vietnam Veteran rates were lower with draftees, even with the lower standards you speak of they aren't lower than that era.

Sadly, the enemy killed the weak in Vietnam before they had a chance to do it themselves.

 

[Cross]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

So explain the rise in suicides?

You want the harsh truth?

Lowered standards

20 years ago a pussy would have been called a pussy and sent home from basic training, today they get a timeout card and can come back tomorrow when they are no longer sad.

So, it's easy to see. They used to cut those who would likely break and kill themselves out long before they ever went to war.

Vietnam Veteran rates were lower with draftees, even with the lower standards you speak of they aren't lower than that era.

Sadly, the enemy killed the weak in Vietnam before they had a chance to do it themselves.

Your kidding right?

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

"Exposure to traumatic events"? What the hell does that mean. Today's Military is better equipped, protected, fed and housed and has shorter tours than any other period in history. So called "service dogs" have a long history of aiding the blind and physically impaired. Some reality channel has a series about well trained "service dogs" being wasted on able bodied Veterans who claim to be suffering from PTSD. They gave a dog to an uninjured Veteran who claimed he was traumatized by being too close to an explosion. General Patton would have slapped him silly and sent him back to the front lines.

So explain the rise in suicides?

You want the harsh truth?

Lowered standards

20 years ago a pussy would have been called a pussy and sent home from basic training, today they get a timeout card and can come back tomorrow when they are no longer sad.

So, it's easy to see. They used to cut those who would likely break and kill themselves out long before they ever went to war.

Vietnam Veteran rates were lower with draftees, even with the lower standards you speak of they aren't lower than that era.

Sadly, the enemy killed the weak in Vietnam before they had a chance to do it themselves.

Your kidding right?

No, I'm serious. So many young men were killed in Vietnam that the survivor stats are skewed.

 

[Cross]

So explain the rise in suicides?

You want the harsh truth?

Lowered standards

20 years ago a pussy would have been called a pussy and sent home from basic training, today they get a timeout card and can come back tomorrow when they are no longer sad.

So, it's easy to see. They used to cut those who would likely break and kill themselves out long before they ever went to war.

Vietnam Veteran rates were lower with draftees, even with the lower standards you speak of they aren't lower than that era.

Sadly, the enemy killed the weak in Vietnam before they had a chance to do it themselves.

Your kidding right?

No, I'm serious. So many young men were killed in Vietnam that the survivor stats are skewed.

You know the difference between a fully equipped NVA force and the Taliban?

I understand what you posit it just can't be proven. In fact it's likely the opposite is true.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

You want the harsh truth?

Lowered standards

20 years ago a pussy would have been called a pussy and sent home from basic training, today they get a timeout card and can come back tomorrow when they are no longer sad.

So, it's easy to see. They used to cut those who would likely break and kill themselves out long before they ever went to war.

Vietnam Veteran rates were lower with draftees, even with the lower standards you speak of they aren't lower than that era.

Sadly, the enemy killed the weak in Vietnam before they had a chance to do it themselves.

Your kidding right?

No, I'm serious. So many young men were killed in Vietnam that the survivor stats are skewed.

You know the difference between a fully equipped NVA force and the Taliban?

I understand what you posit it just can't be proven. In fact it's likely the opposite is true.

I'm not arguing that the NVA was any deadlier of an enemy or whatever. I merely am saying SO many people died in Vietnam that we can't trust the figures of those who survived. If "only" 20K had been killed, how many of the extra 30K "survivors" would have committed suicide? We'll simply never know.