Sexual Trauma and Combat During Deployment: Associations With Suicidal Ideation Among OEF/OIF/OND Veterans

Citation:

Monteith, Lindsey L., Deleene S. Menefee, Jeri E. Forster, Jill L. Wanner, and Nazanin H. Bahraini. 2015. “Sexual Trauma and Combat During Deployment: Associations With Suicidal Ideation Among OEF/OIF/OND Veterans.” Journal of Traumatic Stress 28 (4): 283–88. doi:10.1002/jts.22018.

Authors: Nazanin H. Bahraini, Jeri E. Forster, Deleene S. Menefee, Lindsey L. Monteith, Jill L. Wanner

Abstract:

Compelling evidence has emerged on the association between military sexual trauma and suicide attempt; however, research investigating how sexual trauma during deployment relates to suicidal ideation has received considerably less attention and has yielded mixed findings. Furthermore, such research has not accounted for other types of trauma that may occur during deployment. Our objectives were to examine whether sexual trauma during deployment was associated with recent suicidal ideation, adjusting for exposure to combat. Our sample included 199 Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) veterans entering inpatient trauma-focused treatment who completed the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (Beck & Steer, ) and the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory Sexual Harassment and Combat Experiences Scales (King, King, Vogt, Knight, & Samper, ). Deployment-related sexual trauma was significantly associated with recent suicidal ideation, adjusting for age and gender (β = .18, ηp2 = .03) and additionally for combat (β = .17, ηp2 = .02). These findings underscore the importance of assessing for deployment-related sexual trauma when assessing suicide risk in OEF/OIF/OND veterans in inpatient settings.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Female Combatants, Male Combatants, Health, Trauma, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Sexual Violence Regions: MENA, Americas, North America, Asia, Middle East, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, United States of America

Year: 2015