Perceived stress and intent to die in young soldiers who attempt suicide

Résumé

textbfBackground: Intent to die is an important component of suicide risk assessment. The authors compared the predictive effect of two forms of stress – military and perceived – in intent to die by suicide among young adult Israeli soldiers with a history of suicide attempts. Depression, suicide ideation, and habituation/acquired capacity for suicidality served as covariates. textbfMethods: Participants were 60 young adult soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force (ISF; aged 18–21 years), who made a suicide attempt during their military service. Study variables were assessed using self-report measures. textbfResults: Intent to die by suicide correlated with suicide ideation, habituation/acquired capacity, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress. In a multiple regression analysis, perceived stress predicted intent to die (b = .44