@article{ref1,
title="Characteristics and context of veterans experiencing serious suicidal ideation or suicide attempt by firearm which led to hospitalization",
journal="Archives of suicide research",
year="2021",
author="Waliski, Angie and Matthieu, Monica M. and Townsend, James C. and McGaugh, Janette and Adkins, David A. and Skaggs, Elisabeth M. and Allison, M. Kathryn and Kirchner, JoAnn",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Suicide by former United States military service members is of great public health concern, and one area, veterans' suicide attempts involving firearms, is understudied. One group that has a unique perspective on this are veterans with a psychiatric admission following a firearm-related suicide crisis, such as making a suicide plan or a suicide rehearsal with a firearm within the preceding 72 hours. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature by describing the characteristics and context of non-fatal suicide events involving firearms among veterans. <br><br>METHOD: This convergent parallel mixed-methods design study collected both quantitative and qualitative data from male veterans (N = 15) who were hospitalized due to a suicide attempt or serious ideation using a firearm. Veterans admitted to a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) were interviewed and asked to complete a survey. Qualitative data on characteristics and context were analyzed using a thematic analysis. <br><br>RESULTS: The fifteen male U.S. military veterans described their personal characteristics, such as their beliefs, family beliefs and structure, emotions, and employment status. Most participants were unemployed (n = 10; 67%), divorced (n = 7; 47%) or married (n = 5; 33%). Seven themes related to context emerged from qualitative interviews to include: combat trauma, non-combat trauma and negative life event(s), current and past suicide attempt(s), firearms, substance use, known deaths by suicide, and protective factors for suicide. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Results suggest that engaging support networks and communities is essential when developing programs to promote identification of early warning signs and implementation of interventions or programs for reducing veteran suicide.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1381-1118",
doi="10.1080/13811118.2021.1974625",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2021.1974625"
}