Completed Suicide in the Navy and Marine Corps

Abstract

All completed suicides among active-duty Navy and Marine Corps members during calendar years 1966 through 1977 were extracted from archival death records. The resulting sample included 549 Navy and 427 Marine Corps personnel. Comparisons were made between the services, and the subgroups were described in terms of demographic variables and methods of injury. Incidence rates for Marine Corps middle-range (E-4 through E-6) and junior enlisted personnel (E-1 through E-3) were double and triple the comparable Navy rates, respectively, but were lower than rates for the general U.S. population of white males. The Marine Corps sample was significantly younger and had less service than the Navy sample. Marine Corps personnel committed suicide significantly more often using firearms than Navy personnel. Findings were compared with data available for Army service members and previous studies of naval personnel. The risks inherent in inferring that the use of firearms in Navy and Marine Corps completed suicides relates to their availability to military personnel were noted.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA124170

Entities

People

  • R. Blake Chaffee

Organizations

  • Naval Health Research Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Age Distribution
  • Age Groups
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Personnel
  • Availability
  • Biomedical Research
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Health Services
  • Marine Corps
  • Marine Corps Personnel
  • Mental Health
  • Military Medicine
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • Naval Personnel
  • Warrant Officers

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Naval Personnel Management
  • Regression Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML