Reframing Suicide in the Military

Abstract

Since 2001, the suicide rate among members of our military has increased dramatically. This increase occurred despite improving behavioral health conditions for American forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The public response to this alarming and paradoxical trend largely has been to blame the usual suspects when bad things happen in our military: stress, the strain of intense operations and repetitive deployments, and the hardships of military life. Proposals to address the problem of suicide have also trod familiar ground: more money, more programs, more chaplains, expansion of mental health resources, more research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), new training modules, increased awareness, and better screening and treatment for those we think are at risk. Nevertheless, suicides continue to occur at unusually high rates in the military. We will argue that our current understanding of this problem is incomplete, and that, as a nation, our approach to suicide in the military needs to be reframed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA594886

Entities

People

  • George R. Mastroianni
  • Wilbur J. Scott

Organizations

  • United States Air Force Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Behavioral Sciences
  • Brain Injuries
  • Department Of Defense
  • Law
  • Marine Corps
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Processes
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Training
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Risk Factors
  • Societies
  • Training
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Strategic Security Studies