skip to page content
Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Characteristics and Context of Veterans Experiencing Serious Suicidal Ideation or Suicide Attempt by Firearm which led to Hospitalization.

Waliski A, Matthieu MM, Townsend JC, McGaugh J, Adkins DA, Skaggs EM, Allison MK, Kirchner J. Characteristics and Context of Veterans Experiencing Serious Suicidal Ideation or Suicide Attempt by Firearm which led to Hospitalization. Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research. 2021 Sep 22; 1-11.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Suicide by former United States military service members is of great public health concern, and one area, veterans' suicide attempts involving firearms, is understudied. One group that has a unique perspective on this are veterans with a psychiatric admission following a firearm-related suicide crisis, such as making a suicide plan or a suicide rehearsal with a firearm within the preceding 72 hours. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature by describing the characteristics and context of non-fatal suicide events involving firearms among veterans. METHOD: This convergent parallel mixed-methods design study collected both quantitative and qualitative data from male veterans ( = 15) who were hospitalized due to a suicide attempt or serious ideation using a firearm. Veterans admitted to a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) were interviewed and asked to complete a survey. Qualitative data on characteristics and context were analyzed using a thematic analysis. RESULTS: The fifteen male U.S. military veterans described their personal characteristics, such as their beliefs, family beliefs and structure, emotions, and employment status. Most participants were unemployed ( = 10; 67%), divorced ( = 7; 47%) or married ( = 5; 33%). Seven themes related to context emerged from qualitative interviews to include: combat trauma, non-combat trauma and negative life event(s), current and past suicide attempt(s), firearms, substance use, known deaths by suicide, and protective factors for suicide. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that engaging support networks and communities is essential when developing programs to promote identification of early warning signs and implementation of interventions or programs for reducing veteran suicide.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.