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Adverse childhood and combat experiences may drive veterans’ suicidal thoughts
The rate of suicide among post-9/11 military veterans has been rising for nearly a decade. While there are a number of factors associated with suicide, veterans have unique experiences that may contribute to them thinking about killing themselves.
“Compared to their civilian peers, veterans are more likely to report having experienced traumatic adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as physical and emotional abuse,” stated Keith Aronson, associate director of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State and the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI). “Veterans also engage in life-threatening combat and witness the corollaries of combat such as seeing colleagues killed or wounded.”
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(Boston) Veterans who experienced the combination of low depression, high social support and high psychological resilience as they left military service were most likely to report high well-being a year later.
Neither demographic and military characteristics nor trauma history emerged as strong predictors of veterans well-being when considered in the context of other factors. Although most predictors were similar for women and men, depression was a stronger predictor of women s well-being.
Every year, more than 200,000 U.S. service members transition out of the military. Although most military veterans can be expected to successfully navigate this transition, a substantial number of individuals struggle to adapt to post-military life.