Since 2004, the rate of death by suicide has exceeded that of death by combat injury for American soldiers. A review of more than 100 cases involving the suicide of an active-duty soldier found a significant association between firearm ownership, access and usage patterns and increased risk of suicide.
The study, published today in the open-access, online-only journal JAMA Network Open, conducted psychological autopsies of 135 U.S. soldiers who committed suicide during a 27-month period, while the individuals were on active duty but not deployed.
The review included interviewing the soldiers’ next-of-kin and supervisors about the individuals’ firearm ownership, storage and use. The researchers compared the patterns of behavior with both a control group of soldiers, with similar demographics and assessed risk of suicide, and a second group of soldiers who had self-reported suicidal ideation in the previous year.
According to the research team, individuals who had committed suicide were ...
