Military Help-Seeking Patterns Preceding Suicide-Related Psychiatric Hospitalization: A Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
Abstract
Service members psychiatrically hospitalized following a suicide-related event are at particularly high risk of death by suicide. However, their pre-hospitalization help-seeking patterns are not currently known and may be best understood in terms of empirically derived subgroups. Factors associated with help-seeking may include demographics, perceived stigma, structural barriers to care, and social support. Purpose: Objectives of this dissertation study were as follows: (1) to describe the self-reported help-seeking patterns, health services utilization, social support, and perceived barriers to care of service members admitted for inpatient psychiatric care following a suicide-related event; (2) to use hierarchical cluster analysis to identify subgroups based on patterns of help-resource utilization; (3) to assess the internal stability and external validity of the clusters; and (4) to evaluate correlates associated with each cluster. Method: This study involved secondary analysis of baseline data from the Post Admission Cognitive Therapy (PACT) for the Inpatient Treatment of Military Personnel and Eligible Adult Dependents with Suicidal Behaviors multi-site, single-blind randomized controlled trial. Participants included were service members psychiatrically hospitalized following a suicide-related event. Participants completed self-report measures of help-seeking, social support, perceived stigma, and barriers to care. Results: A hierarchical cluster analysis utilizing Wards method was performed to group participants according to help-seeking patterns reported on the Actual Help-Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ). Stability of the model was validated using split-half analysis. Athree-cluster solution was identified, with clusters characterized as (1) Non-Discriminant Help-Seekers, (2) Discriminant Help-Seekers, and (3) Non Help-Seekers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 17, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1128434
Entities
People
- Viktor Koltko
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences