(PS4-99) Veteran Responses on the Suicide Status Form: A Cohort-Comparison Study

Abstract Text:

Objective: In the United States, suicide is considered to be a leading cause of death, and of individuals dying by suicide, veterans are an important demographic. One method to better understanding why veterans are dying by suicide is to understand, from the patient’s perspective, what is driving their suicidal ideation (SI), and how they experience reasons for living and dying. This technique is used within the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). Additionally, as the world is constantly evolving, we are unaware of generational differences that might exist in veteran’s drivers of SI, as well as their reasons for living and dying. Thus, the current study aimed to examine and compare veteran qualitative responses on the Suicide Status Form (SSF; a form completed during CAMS sessions) between two veteran cohorts (i.e., one from 2014 [i.e., sample 1] and one from 2023 [i.e., sample 2]).

Method: Using the two samples, coding teams from the Catholic University of America qualitatively coded the SSF Initial Session core constructs, and reasons for living and dying using the approved coding methods provided in the SSF coding manual within the Managing Suicidal Risk – A Collaborative Approach (Jobes, 2023). After the coding process, multiple Pearson’s chi square analyses were performed to examine potential differences between cohorts.

Results: Results indicated that there are differences in how two cohorts of veterans experience stress and agitation related to their suicidality as well as differences in their reasons for living. Specifically, veterans in sample 2 indicated higher responses of stress and agitation than veterans in sample 1 and when comparing reasons for living, veterans from Sample 2 endorsed “enjoyable things” as a reason for living more often than Sample 1, and veterans from Sample 1 endorsed “beliefs” as a reason for living more often than veterans from Sample 2.

Conclusions: The results of the current study indicate that there are some differences in how military veterans who engaged in suicide-specific treatment in 2023 experience and conceptualize their suicidality when compared to veterans who received suicide-specific treatment in 2014. While future work is needed to further these findings, utilizing qualitative data from the Initial Session SSFs places the current study in a unique position to hear directly from suicidal veterans as to how we as researchers and clinicians can better serve their suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Impact: Implications of the current study include adding to the important literature of suicide prevention in veterans and informing future studies and clinical interventions for treating veteran SI.