Title Suicide among the Armed Forces : understanding the cost of service / Antoon A. Leenaars, Windsor, Ontario

Published Amityville, N.Y. : Baywood Pub. Company, Inc., [2013] ©2013

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Description 1 online resource (x, 374 pages) Series Death, value, and meaning series Death, value, and meaning series. Contents The military and suicide -- Suicide -- The psychological autopsy -- Historical study -- Military suicide: a classic population study -- Military suicide: a historical individual case study -- Current study -- Suicide among the American Armed Forces -- Suicide among the Canadian Forces -- Surveillance and the reliability of military suicide statistics -- Beyond suicide -- The many faces of violence: homicide, accidental deaths, self-harm, and incarceration -- Military efforts -- The psychology of military suicide -- Posttraumatic stress disorder -- Suicide prevention in the military -- A case study -- A soldier's story told: a psychological autopsy -- Prevention and policies -- Military suicide: policies and prevention Summary Not since the great military suicide epidemic of the American Civil War have we seen so many of our heroes, our soldiers and veterans, die by suicide. Why? War is violence. There is intent to cause death, or serious injury, or threat to the physical and psychological integrity of others. War stress is unforgiving. Suicide is an all too frequent response. Today, one member of the military dies by suicide every day. This is a new epidemic. This book addresses some tough questions: What do we know about suicides in the military? Are rates high? Or low? Is military suicide the same or different in the United States and Canada? Is military culture relevant? Do we know the causes, patterns, and associations? Is suicide among the armed forces similar to or different from suicide among civilians? Can it be altruistic? Through individual case studies and general/population approaches, we attempt to understand the cost of military service. It is especially through the personal stories of the great Civil War hero General Emory Upton, Admiral of the Navy Mike Boorda, and Hospital Corpsman Chris Purcell that we find answers. We learn there is a relative lack of understanding about military suicides, mainly due to the very complexity of suicide. The nature of suicide is not monolithic--it is multi-determined. Military service, we find, is a risk factor for suicide and suicidal behavior. Military veterans are twice as likely as civilians to die by suicide. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain Injury (TBI) are especially noted to be huge risk factors, but so are other physical and psychological injuries. Sadly, the aftershocks of war include not only suicides but also incarceration, motor vehicle accidents, homicides, homicide(s)-suicides, and many more faces of violence. And there are many more, uncounted, wounded and dead. The families of traumatized soldiers and veterans, too, are indirect victims of their traumatic experience and, for some, their suicides; there is secondary traumatization. Yet, as this book shows, we must not forget that despite the unbearable pain of war, soldiers, veterans, and their military families, including children, are typically resilient. They can survive! Without question, our vulnerable heroes and veterans are at risk for suicide. But there is secrecy surrounding this, which may well be the biggest barrier. The government, the Department of Defense, the military, veterans groups, survivors, health providers, and other stakeholders need to develop and support more research, more programs, and more care for suicidal and disabled armed services personnel, veterans, and survivors. This war stress needs to stop. Antoon A. Leenaars, PhD, CPsych, CPQ, is a psychologist in private practice in mental health and public health in Windsor, Canada, and Senior Advisor to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo. He is the first past president of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) and a past president of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS). Publisher's note Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version Subject Soldiers -- Suicidal behavior -- Canada Soldiers -- Mental health services -- Canada Soldiers -- Suicidal behavior -- United States Soldiers -- Mental health services -- United States Suicide -- Canada -- Prevention Suicide -- United States -- Prevention Psychology, Military. Suicide -- Prevention. Mental illness. Suicide Prevention Suicide -- psychology Psychology, Military Military Personnel -- psychology Mental Disorders Stress, Psychological mental disorders. Mental illness Armed Forces -- Medical care Psychology, Military Soldiers -- Suicidal behavior Suicide -- Prevention SUBJECT Canada -- Armed Forces -- Medical care United States -- Armed Forces -- Medical care. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85139845 United States https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D014481 Canada https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D002170 Subject Canada United States Form Electronic book ISBN 9780895038265 0895038269 9781351863551 135186355X

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