Perceived burdensomeness, bullying, and suicidal ideation in suicidal military personnel

Abstract

Objective Suicide is a major public health concern among military servicemembers and previous research has demonstrated an association between bullying and suicide. This study evaluated the association between workplace bullying and suicidal ideation via perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness which were hypothesized to mediate this association. Method Four hundred and seventy‐one suicidal Army Soldiers and U.S. Marines completed self‐report measures of suicidal ideation, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and bullying. A series of regressions were used to test the hypothesized mediation model using the baseline data from a larger clinical trial. Results Perceived burdensomeness was a significant mediator of the association between bullying and the level of suicidal ideation, but thwarted belongingness was not a significant mediator. Conclusions Perceived burdensomeness may represent a malleable target for intervention to prevent suicide among military service members, and should be evaluated further as an intervening variable with regard to suicidality in the setting of bullying victimization.

Resilience as a Protective Factor in Basic Military Training, a Longitudinal Study of the Swiss Armed Forces

“…Specifically, given that military service is compulsory for all male Swiss adults, it is also highly conceivable that motivational issues (willingness to serve) might have blurred the current pattern of results. Likewise, it is conceivable that further unassessed variables, such as bullying [ 77 ], belonging to an ethnic minority [ 19 ] or the risk of unemployment after the military service might have unfavorably impacted the present pattern of results. Fourth, we basically relied on self-reports; this might be the reason for the modest overlap between the self-reported dimensions and military performance, as ratted by their superiors.…”

“…Future studies among BMT of Swiss Armed Forces might address resilience training programs [ 73 , 78 ] and other important issues for the Army as bullying [ 77 ] or willingness to serve in military service. Other topics of interest could be the role of minorities, somatization levels and coping styles [ 18 , 19 ] as well as predictors and personal improvements.…”

Harassment and its association with depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior: The role of perceived stigma and nondisclosure.

“…Although the association of harassment with depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior has been confirmed in several studies, less is known about the mediating mechanisms (Nielsen et al, 2015). In recent years, first potential mediators, relating to interpersonal experiences and expectations, have been investigated (Crowell-Williamson et al, 2019; Strøm et al, 2018). These include, for example, thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, which are suggested to contribute to suicidal behavior by the interpersonal theory of suicide (Chu et al, 2017).…”

Transformational Leadership, Achievement Motivation, and Perceived Stress in Basic Military Training: A Longitudinal Study of Swiss Armed Forces

“…However, it is conceivable that compulsory military service could influence the current results with regard to motivational aspects (willingness to serve). Fifth, other important topics such as bullying [75], belonging to an ethnic minority [76], or the risk of unemployment after military service might have impacted on the results. Sixth, with regard to the group comparison, the results of the ANOVA showed only moderate differences (partial eta squared as effect sizes); given this, the present results should be overestimated.…”

“…Research has shown that leadership interventions can have a positive effect on work outcomes [78,79]. Furthermore, other topics such as bullying [75] and willingness to undertake military service should be content for future military studies.…”