A new study of U.S. military veterans who have recently returned from overseas deployment has found that those vets who are married or living with a partner are at higher suicide risk than soldiers who are single.
Older married female veterans are at the greatest risk, the analysis found.
“While one might assume soldiers returning from deployment would find comfort and support reuniting with a spouse or loved one, the transition to a domestic setting can cause stress,” said a team of researchers from the University of Connecticut and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Some vets experienced “internal struggles” returning to a domestic home environment, which could be magnified by the roles and responsibilities which come with it.
“It certainly makes sense when you think about it,” said Crystal Park, a psychology professor on the Connecticut campus and a co-author of the study. “There are added pressures that come with maintaining a relationship and meeting household needs. People may have expectations when they’re away and when they return it’s not what they imagined. The romance may not be there. It’s just the daily grind — and that can drive up stress levels and increase feelings of despair.”
The findings are based on responses from 772 recently returned vets who participated in the Survey of Experiences of Returning Veterans conducted by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. The average age of the respondents was 35. They had served in Iran, Afghanistan, and surrounding areas as part of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn. Almost two thirds — 62 percent — had been in the Army and 75 percent had seen combat.
“More than 20 percent of those surveyed reported thoughts of suicide, with 6 percent reporting a past attempt and current thoughts of suicide. Significantly, the study confirmed prior reports of female veterans, in general, being at increased risk of suicide relative to men,” the analysis said.
Younger vets in their 20s, both male and female, were less likely to think about suicide than older vets in their 40s and 50s.
Ms. Park attributes this trend to the fact that many older veterans were members of the National Guard or military reserves who were called into service.
“A lot of the people who went over there weren’t active duty military,” she said. “They were people who signed up for something but probably never anticipated they would be going to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. They had jobs. They had kids. They had a life that was much different than someone who chooses to enlist in the military.”
The study also suggests a significant spiritual aspect of the challenges veterans face on their return home. Positive and negative feelings about faith both came into play following a deployment.
“People are experiencing some profound spiritual struggle over and above any depression they might have,” Ms. Park said. “What people experience, what they do, and what they witness can have profound negative effects on them when they come back. The study emphasized the importance of religion and spirituality in veteran suicide prevention efforts, and underscores the need for counseling and support that are both gender specific and tailored to the needs of veterans during their initial reintegration into civilian life.”
Twenty veterans die by suicide each day according to current estimates, with 18 percent of all suicide deaths in the U.S. attributed to current or former military personnel.
“There are a lot more veterans out there thinking about suicide and who are in despair and we really do owe them some kind of help for these issues. People are having profound spiritual struggles in their lives that can’t simply be linked to depression and medicated away. It’s more of an existential crisis,” said Ms. Park.
The study was published in the Archives of Suicide Research, a journal of the International Academy of Suicide Research, and funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The research team included Rani Hoff, director of the Northeast Program Evaluation Center within the VA’s Office of Mental Health Operations; Dr. Marek Kopacz, a medical sociologist with the VA’s VISN2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention and Hugh Crean, a research affiliate at the center.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.