Risk of Suicide Attempt Among Soldiers in Army Units With a History of Suicide Attempts
This article published in JAMA Psychiatry examines whether a soldier’s risk of suicide attempt is influenced by suicide attempts the same unit. Data analysis from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Service members (STARRS) controlling for sociodemographic features, service-related characteristics, prior mental health diagnosis, and other unit variables, including suicide-, combat-, and unintentional injury–related unit deaths, shows risk of suicide attempt among soldiers increased as the number of past-year suicide attempts within their unit increased significantly regardless of military occupational specialties unit sizes. However, the highest risk exists in smaller units. The data suggests if this risk could be reduced to no unit attempts, 18.2% of suicide attempts would not occur. Units with a history of suicide attempts may be important targets for preventive interventions.