Odds of suicide attempt (SA) were higher in US soldiers with a family violence (FV) history and increased as the number of FV events increased, according to a recent study. Using administrative data from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS), researchers identified person-month records of active duty, Regular Army, enlisted soldiers with medically documented SAs from 2004–2009 (n=9,650) and a sample of control person-months (n=153,528). Logistic regression analyses examined associations of FV with SA, adjusting for socio-demographics, service-related characteristics, and prior mental health diagnosis. They found:

• Soldiers experiencing past-month FV were almost 5 times as likely to attempt suicide as those with no FV history.
• Odds of SA were elevated for both perpetrators and those who were exclusively victims.
• Male perpetrators had higher odds of SA than male victims, whereas female perpetrators and female victims did not differ in SA risk.
• A discrete-time hazard function indicated that SA risk was highest in the initial months following the first FV event.
• FV is an important consideration in understanding risk of SA among soldiers.