TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - A Study of Self-Injurious and Suicidal Behavior in a Veteran Population
JO  - Psychological services
A1  - Kleespies, P.M.
A1  - AhnAllen, C.G.
A1  - Knight, J.A.
A1  - Presskreischer, B.
A1  - Barrs, K.L.
A1  - Boyd, B.L.
A1  - Dennis, J.P.
SP  - 236
EP  - 250
VL  - 8
IS  - 3
N2  - This patient safety improvement study was conducted (1) to establish a database of intentional patient self-injuries and suicidal behavior among veterans in a large urban VA health care system, and (2) to investigate whether there were demographic and/or clinical characteristics of veterans who self-injure that might predict seriousness of suicidal intent and aid in future efforts at prevention. A total of 175 clinician-administered, post self-injury interviews were completed between 2006 and 2008 in a VA health care system in the Northeast. <br><br>FINDINGS suggest that self-injuries with high suicidal intent were characterized by male gender, older age, planning of self-injury, no wish to be saved, and a negative feeling about having survived. Additional results indicated that staff ratings of patient intent to die were significantly lower than patient self-rated intent to die, a finding that gives rise to questions of whether staff may tend to underestimate patient suicidal intent. Also, although more than 80% of the veterans in this sample considered their self-injurious actions impulsive, planning of self-injury was significantly associated with higher intent to die. Veterans who completed suicide during the study time period were significantly more likely than those who had nonfatal self-injuries to have experienced combat. The implications of these findings are discussed, including whether combat exposure may lead to an acquired capacity for lethal behaviors such as suicide (Joiner, 2005). © 2011 American Psychological Association.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1541-1559
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0024881
ID  - ref1
ER  -