Suicides in the U.S. Military

• Author: James Griffith,Craig J. Bryan
• Published date: 01 July 2016
• Date: 01 July 2016
• DOI: 10.1177/0095327X15614552
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Suicides in the U.S.

Military: Birth Cohort

Vulnerability and the

All-Volunteer Force

James Griffith

1

and Craig J. Bryan

1

Abstract

This paper builds a case for examining suicide in the U.S. military relative to broad

societal context, specifically, the unique experiences of birth cohorts relating to

processes described by Durkheim’s theory of suicide. In more recent birth cohorts,

suicide rates have increased among teenagers and young adults. In addition, suicide

rates of age intervals at a given time period have been reliably predicted by the size of

the birth cohort and the percentage of nonmarital births—supposed indicators of

Durkheim’s diminished social integration and behavioral regulation. Consequences

of these trends are likely more evident in the U.S. military due to having pro-

portionally more individuals known to be at risk for suicide, that is, young males who

are from nontraditional households. The all-volunteer force compared to draft force

has fewer applicants to select, and proportionally more of applicants are accepted

for military service. Consequently, more recruits having varied conditions now than

before, perhaps including greater vulnerability to suicide, serve in the U.S. military.

These points are further elaborated with supporting evidence, concluding with a call

for new directions in suicide research, practice, and policy.

Keywords

military suicides, birth cohort, social integration, all-volunteer force

1

National Center for Veterans Studies, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Corresponding Author:

James Griffith, USA 301-452-6026.

Email: jhgriffith@comcast.net

Armed Forces & Society

2016, Vol. 42(3) 483-500

ªThe Author(s) 2015

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X15614552

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Increased Suicides in the U.S. Military

A current major health policy concern of the U.S. military is the steadily rising sui-

cide rate (U.S. Army Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, 2010, 2012). Historically,

the U.S. military has had a lower suicide rate than the civilian population, and the

suicide rate among U.S. military personnel has typically decreased during wartime

(Cassimatis & Rothberg, 1997; Rothberg, Holloway, & Ursano, 1987). After 2000,

however, the suicide rate among military personnel increased from 10.3 suicides per

100,000 service members in 2001 to 15.8 suicides per 100,000 in 2008 (Ramchand

et al., 2014). This 50%increase across all the armed services was largely due to the

doubling of the suicide rate in the U.S. Army, which is the focus of this paper.

The U.S. Army represents the largest number of U.S. military personnel, consisting

of the active component Army numbering about 500,000 and the reserve component

numbering about 550,000, comprising the U.S. Army Reserve (approximately

200,000) and the Army National Guard (ARNG; approximately 350,000). Figure 1

displays the annual suicide rates for the active component Army and the ARNG gath-

ered by the U.S. Army Public Health Command (2015). Soon after 2007, the suicide

rate for the active component Army surpassed the civilian age-matched rate. A few

years later, the suicide rate for the ARNG did the same. Suicide rates for both compo-

nents have subsequently continued to rise, with the active component showing a more

steady increase and the ARNG showing a more varied increase. Comparison of the

Army rates to civilian rates is problematic for recent years. Civilian rates, obtained

from the Centers for Disease Control, usually lag 2 to 3 years behind the current year.

Recent trends in suicides in the U.S. military suggest increased individual vulner-

ability to suicide largely associated with recent birth cohorts. This influence of birth

cohort is supported by several lines of evidence including (a) demographic shifts in

the U.S. Army over time, (b) increased rates of pre-enlistment behavioral problems

and psychological health conditions, and (c) changes in recruitment patterns subse-

quent to the switch from the draft to the all-volunteer force (AVF).

Demographic Shifts

Birth cohort vulnerability is likely more evident in the U.S. military population due

to proportionally more personnel who are at greatest risk for suicide: young, White,

and male. Young age, male gender, and White racial identity have been identified in

both civilian and military research studies as some of the primary risk factors for

suicide (for civilians, Karch, Logan, & Patel, 2011; Kessler, Berglund, Borges,

Nock, & Wang, 2005; and for military personnel, Black, Gallaway, & Bell, 2011;

Griffith, 2012a; LeardMann et al., 2013; Millikan, Spiess, Mitchell, Watts, & Porter,

2011; Nock, Deming, et al., 2014; Schoenbaum et al., 2014). Both the active com-

ponent Army and the ARNG have proportionally more young males than the general

population. With respect to gender and age, in fiscal year 2012, the ARNG popula-

tion was about 85%male, and 40%were 18–24 years of age (Griffith, 2013). With

484 Armed Forces & Society 42(3)