April Smith, University of Auburn – Identifying Dynamic Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation in Service Members

The Academic Minute

How do we lessen the risk of suicidal ideation among service members?

April Smith, associate professor and the director of research on eating disorders and suicidality laboratory at Auburn University, asks questions to find answers.

Dr. Smith is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at Auburn University and the director of the Research on Eating Disorders and Suicidality (REDS) Laboratory. She also co-directs the Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic. Dr. Smith received her Ph.D. from Florida State University’s Clinical Psychology Program in 2012. Dr. Smith was named a 2016 Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science. Dr. Smith has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles and has received over $6 million in funding from NIMH and the Department of Defense to support her work.

Identifying Dynamic Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation in Service Members

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Increasing rates of suicide within the military suggest that researchers need to study suicide differently in order to save more lives. Several research advances are helping scientists do just that.

In my lab’s recent study, we harnessed some of these innovations to study what drives thoughts of suicide among service members. We asked 92 participants to take short surveys assessing suicide risk factors on their phone four times per day for one month. Using this method, we were able to pinpoint which symptoms related to suicide risk had the greatest influence on other symptoms at one moment in time as well as over time.

Overall, we found that feeling ineffective, feeling disconnected from others, and feeling agitated were important drivers of risk for thoughts of suicide.

Given these results, considering how the military both fosters and hinders a sense of belonging and effectiveness could help address suicide risk factors. This may become more important as technological advances may lead service members to be less connected to one another.

Additionally, some service members report task saturation and working an unbalanced amount of hours. Allowing soldiers more time to do their work and reflect on it could renew their sense of effectiveness.

Military leadership could also find ways to prioritize and reward group-level achievements over individual accomplishments.

Finally, relaxation techniques, including progressive muscle relaxation, massage and gentle movement, could be beneficial in reducing agitation.

There is still much work to do to turn the tides in the fight against suicide and help those who serve and protect us.

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