SUICIDE AMONG UNITED STATES MILITARY PERSONNEL: DETERMINING THE ROOT CAUSES

摘要

Suicide is a national issue, with rates now exceeding those of deaths from motor vehicle accidents. Rarely have mental health issues been as widely appreciated by the general public and covered by the press than has been the increase in suicide among US military personnel, in particular those in the Army and the Marine corps, in the past 8 years. It is of grave concern when heroic young men and women take their own lives while serving their country. Determining the root cause(s) of these completed suicides, with the aim of preventing them, is a major focus of US military leaders and of the mental health research community.