How Is the Suicide Ideation in the Korean Armed Forces Affected by Mental Illness, Traumatic Events, and Social Support?

BACKGROUND: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the military as in the general population. To mitigate such a serious public health problem, identifying the risk or protective factors of suicide behaviors is crucial. METHODS: We analyzed the representative data of the 2014 Korean Armed Forces to explore the relationship between past year adverse events (PAE), accumulated lifetime trauma (ALT), mental illness vulnerability, perceived social support, and suicidal ideation in the previous year. RESULTS: Among the 6,377 subjects, 3.7% of males and 6.2% of females reported suicidal ideation in the previous year. Multivariate analytic models identified significant associations of PAE and ALT with suicidal ideation with a dose-response pattern. The mental illness vulnerability showed the most significant association with suicidal ideation even after controlling PAE or ALT. We found that perceived social support may be potentially linked with a reduced risk of suicidal ideation. CONCLUSION: This Korean military representative data demonstrates mental illness vulnerability; PAE; and lifetime trauma as significant risk factors of suicidal ideation, while perceived social support was found as a potential protective factor. Given the importance of the prevention of suicide in the military, those risk and protective factors may be used to screen soldiers at risk of suicide and provide further support on mental health services as needed.