Noteboom The Law Firm

Younger Female Veterans Committing Suicide At Growing Rates

December 3, 2010 - A recent study analyzed the results from a National Health Interview Study and compared them with National Death Index information and found male veterans commit suicide twice as much as males that never enlisted in the military. That same study also looked at the information of both female veterans and non-veterans who committed suicide. The study concluded female veterans were more prone to complete suicide than their non-veteran counterparts.

The National Violent Death Reporting System is made up of 16 contributing states. This study took information from the years 2004 through 2007 and covered 5,948 females between the ages 18 and 64, who had committed suicide. The data was supplied from both veteran population information and American Community Surveys. The information for female veterans was divided into two categories:

• Female veterans; and
• The entire population of veterans in addition to all active duty, National Guard, and reservist soldiers.

When researchers used the much larger denominator of the entire military service, they still concluded female veterans were more apt to commit suicide than females who never served. This was the first study of suicide rates among female veterans to include general population figures, researchers did have limitations, such as:

• Not being able to discriminate between female soldiers who had committed suicide on active duty against those who had been discharged;
• An assumption some suicides were not reported as suicides;
• No information regarding military sexual trauma or trauma suffered in combat; and
• No information on anything that could have affected or confused the general data.

Ultimately the study concluded there was a great number of generally younger, female veterans, who are committing suicide. The study referred to the trend as an epidemic. The study went on to state clinicians should be made aware of this disturbing trend and must realize how important suicide prevention is to female veterans in particular.