Mental Health and Self-directed Violence Among Student Service Members/Veterans in Postsecondary Education

Abstract: Objectives: Using a sample of student service members/veterans, the current study aimed to examine the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses and suicide-related outcomes and the association of hazardous duty with mental health. Participants: Data are from the Fall 2011 National College Health Assessment (N = 27,774). Methods: Logistic regression was used to examine (1) the association of student service member/veteran status with mental health outcomes and (2) the association of hazardous duty with mental health outcomes among student service members/veterans (n = 706). Results: Student service members/veterans had higher odds of self-harm than students without military experience. Among student service members/veterans, hazardous duty was positively associated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.30, 3.07]) with having a psychiatric diagnosis but negatively associated (OR = 0.41, 95% CI [0.20, 0.85]) with suicidal ideation. Conclusions: Self-harm may be a unique phenomenon among service members/veterans. Suicide prevention with this population should include information about self-harm, and future research should explore whether suicidal intent underlies self-harm.