Those left behind: A scoping review of the effects of suicide exposure on veterans, service members, and military families

Abstract

Veteran and service member suicide remains a significant public health concern. One factor that may impact suicide risk is suicide exposure—knowing someone who has died by suicide or attempted suicide. However, the majority of the extant literature has focused on nonmilitary samples, which may not generalize to military veterans and service members. The current review synthesizes findings regarding suicide exposure in military veterans, service members, their families, and military systems. Our review suggests that the relationship between suicide exposure, suicide risk, and mental health outcomes remains inconsistent. Future research should further explore this important area.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government.

Additional information

Funding

This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR. Dr. Chen is currently funded under a VA Health Services Research & Development Career Development Award [CDA 18-185; IK2HX002787].