Army Soldiers and Suicidal Thoughts: The Impact of Negative Relationship Dynamics Moderated by the Dissolution of Romantic Relationships

Abstract

Suicide among United States active-duty Army soldiers rapidly increased over the past two decades. Using a sample of 322 soldiers from the Army STARRS study, the researchers examined if romantic relationship factors (i.e., hostile disagreements and relationship distress) were linked with suicidal thoughts in Army soldiers, and if these associations were moderated by a recent separation or divorce. Hostile disagreements and relational distress were both significantly associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation. These associations were significantly amplified in magnitude when in the context of a recent separation or divorce. Implications include novel assessment, prevention, and treatment efforts focused on romantic relationships that may reduce the likelihood of soldiers experiencing thoughts of suicide.

The Buffering Effect of Relationships on Combat Exposure, Military Performance, and Mental Health of U.S. Military Soldiers: A Vantage Point for CFTs

“…Additionally, this relationship was the most magnified by disruptions, as the experience of one or more disruptions exacerbated this relationship, but among those who reported more stable interpersonal relationships the relationship declined in both strength and significance. When close relationships are fraught with serious ongoing conflict, vulnerability is intensified (e.g., Love et al, ). Pre‐deployment relationship education offers an avenue to prevent vulnerabilities; post‐deployment refreshers also reduce unresolved conflicts and improve relationship satisfaction of soldiers (Kröger, Kliem, Zimmerman, & Kowalski, ).…”

“…For example, soldiers who express concerns about the home front or the possibility of turbulent life events (e.g., relational disruptions) during deployment experience greater anxiety and PTSD (e.g., Vogt et al, ). Relational distress within intimate relationships, including separation and divorce, can be a particularly salient risk factor for severe mental health concerns (Love, Durtschi, Ruhlmann, & Nelson Goff, ). Additionally, having very few close friendships following a deployment has been linked with higher levels of PTSD (Phillips, LeardMann, Gumbs, & Smith, ), though perceived helpfulness within friendships may be more important than size of the support system (e.g., Charuvastra & Cloitre, ).…”

Modelling user satisfaction in public transport systems considering missing information

“…Indeed, MI method is very popular in social sciences and medical studies. Examples in the field of medicine include (Burton et al 2007;van Buuren et al 1999;Newgard et al 2018;Pettersson et al 2018;Sterne et al 2009;Troyanskaya et al 2001) and (Alegria et al 2004;Allison 2000;König et al 2018;Love et al 2018;Phan et al 2016;Roth 1994;Zou 2015) for social sciences. Very few applications have been found in transport research with exceptions being (Chiou et al 2014;Henrickson et al 2015;Li et al 2015;Tang et al 2015) that uses MI method to fill the missing data in traffic flows or loop detectors.…”

Military‐related stress, self‐efficacy, and anxiety: Investigating the role of marital quality in military couples

“…Accordingly, couple interactions that reflect involvement, stability, and connection may serve as a resource and alter the association among stress, self‐efficacy, and anxiety. In contrast, low‐quality relationships marked by hostile disagreements, distress, distrust, and dissolution likely exacerbate vulnerabilities (e.g., Love et al, 2018; Reed‐Fitzke & Lucier‐Greer, 2020). Low relational support may be particularly detrimental during certain military‐related stressors, such as family separation during deployment; service members who express relational concerns due to deployment are more likely to report psychological distress (Vasterling et al, 2010).…”