Family support, family stress, and suicidal ideation in a combat-exposed sample of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Deployment-related risk factors for suicidal ideation among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans have received a great deal of attention. Studies show that mental health symptoms mediate the association between most deployment stressors and suicidal ideation; however, family-related factors during deployment are largely unexplored. We examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms as mediators of the associations between deployment family support and stress and post-deployment suicidal ideation in combat-exposed OEF/OIF veterans. Design: National cross-sectional mail survey. Methods: 1046 veterans responded to the survey. The sample for this study was 978 veterans who experienced combat. Regression-based path analyses were conducted. Results: Family support and stress had direct associations with suicidal ideation. When PTSD and depression symptoms were examined as mediators of these associations, results revealed significant indirect paths through these symptoms. Conclusions: This study contributes to the literature on suicidal ideation risk factors among OEF/OIF veterans. Deployment family support and family stress are associated with suicidal ideation; however these associations occur primarily through mental health symptomatology, consistent with findings observed for other deployment factors. This research supports ongoing efforts to treat mental health symptomatology as a means of suicide prevention.

Keywords:

• stress disorders, traumatic
• stress, psychological
• social support
• veterans
• suicidal ideation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Gender-stratified analyses revealed no meaningful differences in the pattern of results for male and female veterans. We also considered a number of potential confounders including: age, gender, military occupation, and sexual harassment, all of which had no impact on the pattern of results. These results are not included in the current manuscript, but are available from the first author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development Service “Validation of Modified DRRI Scales in a National Sample of OEF/OIF Veterans” [grant number DHI 09-086], Dawne Vogt, Principal Investigator.