Study of Mental Health Risk in Army Personnel Releases Findings

Findings released from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers, or “Army STARRS,” conducted among U.S. Army personnel, showed that most mental health disorders and suicidal ideation among U.S. Army soldiers begin before enlistment. The results showed that 58.2 percent of soldiers who ever thought of suicide had the thoughts prior to enlistment, 76.6 percent of soldiers with current mental disorders experienced onsets before enlistment, and 47 percent of soldiers who ever made a suicide attempt did so for the first time prior to enlistment. Additionally, nearly 60 percent of soldier suicide attempts can be traced to pre-enlistment mental disorders. The initial published findings include three papers that used different strategies to evaluate suicide risk and protective factors among service people, including a comparative analysis of mental disorders between Army and civilian populations. The results of the study highlight the importance of enhanced screening for applicants and expanded interventions to help new soldiers with mental disorders. To read more about this study, click here.