Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T07:29:30.018Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Childhood determinants of suicidality: comparing males in military and civilian employed populations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2018

Rebecca Syed Sheriff Open the ORCID record for Rebecca Syed Sheriff [Opens in a new window] ,
Miranda Van Hooff ,
Gin Malhi ,
Blair Grace  and
Alexander McFarlane
Rebecca Syed Sheriff*
Affiliation:
Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies (CTSS), Level 1, Helen Mayo North, 30 Frome Road, University of Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Miranda Van Hooff
Affiliation:
Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies (CTSS), Level 1, Helen Mayo North, 30 Frome Road, University of Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia
Gin Malhi
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia CADE Clinic, Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia
Blair Grace
Affiliation:
Department of Education and Child Development, 31 Flinders St, Adelaide, Australia
Alexander McFarlane
Affiliation:
Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies (CTSS), Level 1, Helen Mayo North, 30 Frome Road, University of Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Rebecca Syed Sheriff, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

To better understand the associations of childhood trauma and childhood disorder with past-year suicidality (thoughts, plans or attempts), we compared male military and civilian populations aged 18–60 years old.

Methods

Data derived from the 2010 Australian Defence Force (ADF) Mental Health Prevalence and Wellbeing Study and the 2007 Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing were compared using logistic regression and Generalized Structural Equation Modelling (GSEM).

Results

A greater proportion of the ADF experienced suicidality than civilians. Those who experienced childhood trauma that was not interpersonal in nature were not at increased odds of suicidality, in either population. A higher proportion of the ADF experienced three or more types of trauma in childhood and first experienced three or more types of trauma in adulthood. Both were associated with suicidality in the ADF and civilians. Childhood anxiety had a strong and independent association with suicidality in the ADF (controlling for demographics and childhood trauma, adult trauma and adult onset disorder). Childhood anxiety fully mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and suicidality in the ADF, but not in civilians.

Conclusions

These data highlight the need to take a whole life approach to understanding suicidality, and the importance of categorizing the nature of childhood trauma exposure. Importantly, childhood anxiety was not only associated with suicidality, it fully mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and suicidality in the more trauma exposed (military) population only. These findings have the potential to inform the development of strategies for suicide prevention.

Keywords

Epidemiologychildhood mental disorderchildhood traumasuicidality
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 49 , Issue 14 , October 2019 , pp. 2421 - 2431
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2017). Incidence of suicide among serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force personnel 2001–2015: in brief summary report. Cat. no. PHE 213. Canberra: AIHW.Google Scholar
Afifi, TO, Taillieu, T, Zamorski, MA, Turner, S, Cheung, K and Sareen, J (2016) Association of child abuse exposure with suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and suicide attempts in military personnel and the general population in Canada. JAMA Psychiatry 73, 229–238.Google Scholar
Andrews, G and Slade, T (2001) Interpreting scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 25, 494–497.Google Scholar
Bahk, YC, Jang, SK, Choi, KH and Lee, SH (2017) The relationship between childhood trauma and suicidal ideation: role of maltreatment and potential mediators. Psychiatry Investigation 14, 37–43.Google Scholar
Blosnich, JR, Dichter, ME, Cerulli, C, Batten, SV and Bossarte, RM (2014) Disparities in adverse childhood experiences among individuals with a history of military service. JAMA Psychiatry 71, 1041–1048.Google Scholar
Breslau, N, Peterson, EL and Schultz, LR (2008) A second look at prior trauma and the posttraumatic stress disorder effects of subsequent trauma: a prospective epidemiological study. Archives of General Psychiatry 65, 431–437.Google Scholar
Conigrave, KM, Saunders, JB and Reznik, RB (1995) Predictive capacity of the AUDIT questionnaire for alcohol-related harm. Addiction 90, 1479–1485.Google Scholar
Cougle, JR, Keough, ME, Riccardi, CJ and Sachs-Ericsson, N (2009) Anxiety disorders and suicidality in the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication. Journal of Psychiatric Research 43, 825–829. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.12.004. Epub 2009 Jan 14.Google Scholar
Davy, C, Dobson, A, Lawrence-Wood, E, Lorimer, M, Moores, K, Lawrence, A, Horsley, K, Crockett, A and McFarlane, (2012) The Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) Health Study: Prospective Study Summary Report. Adelaide, Australia: Centre for Military and Veterans Health, The University of Adelaide.Google Scholar
Deville, J (1999) Variance estimation for complex statistics and estimators: linearization and residual techniques. Survey Methodology 25, 193–203.Google Scholar
Dobson, A, Treloar, S, Zheng, W, Anderson, R, Bredhauer, K, Kanesarajah, J, Loos, C, Pasmore, K and Waller, M (2012) The Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) Health Study: Census Study Report. Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland, Centre for Military and Veterans Health.Google Scholar
Dube, SR, Anda, RF, Felitti, VJ, Chapman, DP, Williamson, DF and Giles, WH (2001) Childhood abuse, household dysfunction, and the risk of attempted suicide throughout the life span: findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. JAMA 286, 3089–3096.Google Scholar
Dunn, G, Pickles, A, Tansella, M and Vazquez-Barquero, JL (1999) Two-phase epidemiological surveys in psychiatric research. British Journal of Psychiatry 174, 95–100.Google Scholar
Enns, MW, Cox, BJ, Afifi, TO, De Graaf, R, Ten Have, M and Sareen, J (2006) Childhood adversities and risk for suicidal ideation and attempts: a longitudinal population-based study. Psychological Medicine 36, 1769–1778, Epub 2006 Sep 26.Google Scholar
Fawcett, J, Scheftner, WA, Fogg, L, Clark, DC, Young, MA, Hedeker, D and Gibbons, R (1990) Time-related predictors of suicide in major affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 147, 1189–1194. doi: 10.1176/ajp.147.9.1189.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D, Ormrod, RK and Turner, HA (2007) Polyvictimization and trauma in a national longitudinal cohort. Development and Psychopathology 19, 149–166.Google Scholar
Forbes, D, Lockwood, E, Phelps, A, Wade, D, Creamer, M, Bryant, RA, McFarlane, A, Silove, D, Rees, S, Chapman, C, Slade, T, Mills, K, Teesson, M and O'Donnell, M (2014) Trauma at the hands of another. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 75, 147–153.Google Scholar
Gilbert, LK, Breiding, MJ, Merrick, MT, Thompson, WW, Ford, DC, Dhingra, SS and Parks, SE (2015) Childhood adversity and adult chronic disease: an update from ten states and the District of Columbia, 2010. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 48, 345–349.Google Scholar
Gradus, JL, Shipherd, JC, Suvak, MK, Giasson, HL and Miller, M (2013) Suicide attempts and suicide among Marines: a decade of follow-up. Suicide & Life Threatening Behaviour 43, 39–49.Google Scholar
Green, JG, McLaughlin, KA, Berglund, PA, Gruber, MJ, Sampson, NA, Zaslavsky, AM and Kessler, RC (2010) Childhood adversities and adult psychiatric disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication I: associations with first onset of DSM-IV disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry 67, 113–123.Google Scholar
Harford, TC, Yi, HY and Grant, BF (2014) Associations between childhood abuse and interpersonal aggression and suicide attempt among U.S. adults in a national study. Child Abuse and Neglect 38, 1389–1398. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.02.011. Epub 2014 Mar 21.Google Scholar
Hodson, M, Van Hooff, M and Davies, C (2011) Mental Health in the Australian Defence Force – 2010 ADF Mental Health Prevalence and Wellbeing Study: Executive Report, Department of Defence: Canberra. Department of Defence: Canberra.Google Scholar
Huang, X, Ribeiro, JD, Musacchio, KM and Franklin, JC (2017) Demographics as predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors: a meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 12, e0180793. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180793. eCollection 2017.Google Scholar
Iversen, AC, Fear, NT, Simonoff, E, Hull, L, Horn, O, Greenberg, N, Hotopf, M, Rona, R and Wessely, S (2007) Influence of childhood adversity on health among male UK military personnel. British Journal of Psychiatry 191, 506–511.Google Scholar
Joiner, TE Jr., Conwell, Y, Fitzpatrick, KK, Witte, TK, Schmidt, NB, Berlim, MT, Fleck, MP and Rudd, MD (2005) Four studies on how past and current suicidality relate even when ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ is covaried. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 114, 291–303.Google Scholar
Kang, HK, Bullman, TA, Smolenski, DJ, Skopp, NA, Gahm, GA and Reger, MA (2015) Suicide risk among 1.3 million veterans who were on active duty during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Annals of Epidemiology 25, 96–100. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2014.11.020. Epub 2014 Nov 28.Google Scholar
Kessler, RC and Ustun, TB (2004) The World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatris Research 13, 93–121.Google Scholar
Kinchin, I and Doran, CM (2018) The cost of youth suicide in Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, 672.Google Scholar
Kuehn, BM (2009) Soldier suicide rates continue to rise: military, scientists work to stem the tide. JAMA 2009 Mar 18; 301, 1111.Google Scholar
LeardMann, CA, Powell, TM, Smith, TC, Bell, MR, Smith, B, Boyko, EJ, Hooper, TI, Gackstetter, GD, Ghamsary, M and Hoge, CW (2013) Risk factors associated with suicide in current and former US military personnel. JAMA 310, 496–506. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.65164.Google Scholar
Nelson, HD, Denneson, LM, Low, AR, Bauer, BW, O'Neil, M, Kansagara, D and Teo, AR (2017) Suicide risk assessment and prevention: a systematic review focusing on veterans. Psychiatric Services 68, 1003–1015. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201600384. Epub 2017 Jun 15.Google Scholar
Nock, MK, Hwang, I, Sampson, N, Kessler, RC, Angermeyer, M, Beautrais, A, Borges, G, Bromet, E, Bruffaerts, R, de Girolamo, G, de Graaf, R, Florescu, S, Gureje, O, Haro, JM, Hu, C, Huang, Y, Karam, EG, Kawakami, N, Kovess, V, Levinson, D, Posada-Villa, J, Sagar, R, Tomov, T, Viana, MC and Williams, DR (2009) Cross-national analysis of the associations among mental disorders and suicidal behavior: findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. PLoS Medicine 6, e1000123. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000123. Epub 2009 Aug 11.Google Scholar
Nock, MK, Stein, MB, Heeringa, SG, Ursano, RJ, Colpe, LJ, Fullerton, CS, Hwang, I, Naifeh, JA, Sampson, NA, Schoenbaum, M, Zaslavsky, AM and Kessler, RC (2014) Prevalence and correlates of suicidal behavior among soldiers: results from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). JAMA Psychiatry 71, 514–522.Google Scholar
Norman, RE, Byambaa, M, De, R, Butchart, A, Scott, J and Vos, T (2012) The long-term health consequences of child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Medicine 9, e1001349.Google Scholar
Ohring, R, Apter, A, Ratzoni, G, Weizman, R, Tyano, S and Plutchik, R (1996) State and trait anxiety in adolescent suicide attempters. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 35, 154–157. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199602000-00007.Google Scholar
Pritchard, C (1992) Youth suicide and gender in Australia and New Zealand compared with countries of the Western world 1973–1987. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 26, 609–617. doi: 10.3109/00048679209072096.Google Scholar
Ravva, P, Karlsson, MO and French, JL (2014) A linearization approach for the model-based analysis of combined aggregate and individual patient data. Statistics in Medicine 33, 1460–1476. doi: 10.1002/sim.6045. Epub 2014 Feb 2.Google Scholar
Sareen, J, Cox, BJ, Afifi, TO, de Graaf, R, Asmundson, GJ, ten Have, M and Stein, MB (2005) Anxiety disorders and risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts: a population-based longitudinal study of adults. Archives of General Psychiatry 62, 1249–1257. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.62.11.1249.Google Scholar
Schoenbaum, M, Kessler, RC, Gilman, SE, Colpe, LJ, Heeringa, SG, Stein, MB, Ursano, RJ and Cox, KL (2014) Predictors of suicide and accident death in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS): results from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). JAMA Psychiatry 71, 493–503.Google Scholar
Slade, T, Johnston, A, Oakley Browne, MA, Andrews, G and Whiteford, H (2009) 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: methods and key findings. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 43, 594–605.Google Scholar
Ursano, RJ, Heeringa, SG, Stein, MB, Jain, S, Raman, R, Sun, X, Chiu, WT, Colpe, LJ, Fullerton, CS, Gilman, SE, Hwang, I, Naifeh, JA, Nock, MK, Rosellini, AJ, Sampson, NA, Schoenbaum, M, Zaslavsky, AM and Kessler, RC (2015) Prevalence and correlates of suicidal behavior among new soldiers in the U.S. Army: results from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). Depression and Anxiety 32, 3–12. doi: 10.1002/da.22317. Epub 2014 Oct 22.Google Scholar
Van Hooff, M, McFarlane, AC, Davies, CE, Searle, AK, Fairweather-Schmidt, AK, Verhagen, A, Benassi, H and Hodson, SE (2014) The Australian Defence Force Mental Health Prevalence and Wellbeing Study: design and methods. European Journal of Psychotraumatology 5, 10.3402/ejpt.v5.23950.Google Scholar
Ventureyra, VA, Yao, SN, Cottraux, J, Note, I and De Mey-Guillard, C (2002) The validation of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist Scale in posttraumatic stress disorder and nonclinical subjects. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 71, 47–53.Google Scholar