Davis, Justin; Hinkson, Kent; Brooks, Malisa; Bryan, Craig (University of Utah)
Faculty Advisor: Hinkson, Kent (University of Utah, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences)
Suicide is currently the tenth leading cause of death in the United States (Heron, 2019), and poses a public health crisis which many organizations are attempting to understand, decrease, and altogether prevent. While military service has historically functioned as a protective factor against suicide, the year 2008 marked a turning point with veteran suicide exceeding the demographically-matched rate for that of civilians in the US (Schoenbaum et al., 2014). In 2016, US veteran rates of suicide were 150% higher than civilian rates after adjusting for age and gender (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018). Physical and psychological service-connected disabilities such as PTSD, depression, chronic pain, and ambulatory issues influence rates of suicidal ideation, behavior, and attempts. The main aim of this study was to understand which categories of service-connected disability, if any, correlate with increased or decreased rates of suicidal ideation, attempt, and behavior. The findings of this nationwide study involving 487 student veterans suggest that the type of disability is indeed related to not only rates of suicide, but also severity of ideation and behaviors. Additionally, academic accommodations for these disabilities were found to be related to a significant reduction of suicide risk. These findings provide significant implications for the screening and treatment of at-risk individuals, specifically those on campus. Other aims include understanding limitations of this method of inquiry, future directions for research, and potential implications of findings for targeted interventions of physical and psychological disorders specific to the veteran population.