News From the Cause
Suicide attempts higher for veterans on campus (USA Today)
August 16, 2011
WASHINGTON – College students who served in the military have a suicide attempt rate six times higher than the average college student, suggests research presented today at a meeting of the American Psychological Association. It found students who are veterans also report thinking about suicide or planning their death at significantly higher rates.
Researchers with the National Center for Veterans' Studies at the University of Utah surveyed 525 veterans, average age 26. Almost all (98%) had been deployed in either Iraq or Afghanistan and 58% to 60% reported experiencing combat.
Nearly half (46%) of the 415 men and 110 women studied reported having had suicidal thinking sometime in their lives; 20% had suicidal thoughts with a plan. That compares to 2010 data from the American College Health Association, which showed 6% of college students reported seriously considering suicide.
Suicidal thinking with a plan is considered a serious suicidal risk, says lead author M. David Rudd, a psychologist at the Utah center, who presented the study.
MORE: They don't always fit the GI Bill
"That's more than triple the general student population," he says. "There's been an enormous amount of research on veterans in general, but not veterans on campus."
The veteran survey also found that 7.7% reported a suicide attempt, compared to 1.3% of college students overall who reported attempting suicide.
The Student Veterans of America, a national coalition that represents about 20,000 student who are veterans, distributed the survey to both full-time and part-time students earlier this year. Click here to view more
