Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a Significant Suicide Risk for Military Veterans?

Running head: PTSD 1
PTSD
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Institution

PTSD
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Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a Significant Suicide Risk for Military Veterans?
Statistic Relating to Military Veterans and Suicide Rates
The suicide rates among the veterans between the financial year 2009 to financial year
2012 were classified on the basis of reported death certificates, level of education, age, sex and
ethnicity. Out of the 147,763 suicide cases that were reported in 21 states, 27062 were reported
to be having history of military service and 22.2% were veterans as per the death certificates
(Kemp & Bossarte, 2013). 69% of all veteran suicides are 50 years and above while 6.0% are 29
years or younger (Kemp & Bossarte, 2013). Of all the suicides among veterans, 97% are males
while less than 3% are females according to Kemp and Bossarte (2013). The leading suicide rate
in different ethnic groups were 92% of white veterans and 91.4% non-Hispanic veterans while
the lowest was 0.4% Asian veterans (Kemp & Bossarte, 2013). 35.1% of veterans who
completed high school and 3.5% of veterans who spent 3 years in college committed suicide
(Kemp & Bossarte, 2013).
PTSD, suicide, and veterans
Suicidal behavior is a critical issue among veterans. Since most veterans undergo through
severe trauma which may threaten their lives, they are likely to suffer from PTSD and in turn
have suicidal thoughts. The veterans who are at high risk are those returning from military
service in different countries and places. PTSD diagnosis and PTSD symptoms among Iraq and
Afghanistan-era veterans are associated with high rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt
(Kittel et al., 2016). This may be as a result of nightmares or even flashbacks.