Together We Stand, Divided We Fall: Connectedness, Suicide, and Social Media in the Military

Abstract: Although the suicide rate in the military has traditionally been lower than the civilian rate (Kang & Bullman, 2008), suicide rates in recent years have trended upwards in active duty military personnel and veterans (Kang & Bullman, 2008), spurring the characterization of suicide as a “hidden epidemic” in the Armed Forces (Sklar, 2007 in Braswell & Kushner, 2010). Suicide is now the second leading cause of death in the military (Ritchie, Keppler, & Rothberg, 2003; U.S. Department of Defense, 2007 in Bryan & Cukrowicz, 2011) and suicide rates have consistently increased across all branches since 2006.