TY - JOUR
T1 - A historical comparison of U.S. Army & U.S. civilian suicide rates, 1900–2020
AU - Smith, Jeffrey Allen
AU - Doidge, Michael
AU - Hanoa, Ryan
AU - Frueh, B. Christopher
N1 - Funding Information:
Because the data in this manuscript were deidentified historical data from the 1900 forward, this research was exempt from Institutional Review Board review. Approval of ethical considerations for the protection of human subjects was not required. All data is publicly available. The views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this presentation are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of Defense position, policy, or decision.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Studies examining the perceived association of war time and increasing suicide rates in the U.S. military and U.S. civilian populations have proliferated since the beginning of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). However, additional historical analysis is needed to better place the recent surge in active-duty U.S. Army and U.S. civilian suicide rates into context and better inform researchers, healthcare providers, and policy makers. To do so, a cross sectional study that extracted empirical data from U.S. government websites, publications, and journal articles published from 1900 to 2022 was conducted to identify longitudinal trends. From 1900 to 2020, active-duty U.S. Army soldier and U.S. civilian suicide rates appear to fluctuate similarly, but with soldier rates often displaying more dramatic changes. Since 1900, active-duty U.S. Army soldier and similarly aged U.S. civilian male suicide rates have gradually converged, with the differences in rates narrowing over time. War does not historically appear to increase suicide rates in active-duty U.S. Army soldiers or U.S. civilians. More recently, given the apparent convergence of U.S. Army and similarly aged U.S. civilian male annual suicide rates, larger more universal factors than combat may be similarly affecting both populations.
AB - Studies examining the perceived association of war time and increasing suicide rates in the U.S. military and U.S. civilian populations have proliferated since the beginning of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). However, additional historical analysis is needed to better place the recent surge in active-duty U.S. Army and U.S. civilian suicide rates into context and better inform researchers, healthcare providers, and policy makers. To do so, a cross sectional study that extracted empirical data from U.S. government websites, publications, and journal articles published from 1900 to 2022 was conducted to identify longitudinal trends. From 1900 to 2020, active-duty U.S. Army soldier and U.S. civilian suicide rates appear to fluctuate similarly, but with soldier rates often displaying more dramatic changes. Since 1900, active-duty U.S. Army soldier and similarly aged U.S. civilian male suicide rates have gradually converged, with the differences in rates narrowing over time. War does not historically appear to increase suicide rates in active-duty U.S. Army soldiers or U.S. civilians. More recently, given the apparent convergence of U.S. Army and similarly aged U.S. civilian male annual suicide rates, larger more universal factors than combat may be similarly affecting both populations.
KW - Combat
KW - History
KW - Military
KW - Society
KW - War
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U2 - 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115182
DO - 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115182
M3 - Article
C2 - 37001489
AN - SCOPUS:85151410962
VL - 323
JO - Psychiatry Research
JF - Psychiatry Research
SN - 0165-1781
M1 - 115182
ER -