Veterans in college six times more likely to attempt suicide than other students

Many Military Vets in College Plagued By Thoughts of Suicide
They're six times more likely than other students to attempt it, study shows
Posted: August 4, 2011

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- American military veterans attending college are far more likely to entertain thoughts of suicide than fellow students who have never been in the military, a new national survey indicates.


Data from the poll paints a grave picture of these students' mental health: Nearly half of all vets currently in higher education say they have considered suicide at some point in their lives, while one in five say they have actually made plans to go through with it.

Such figures far exceed estimates of suicidal tendencies among college students who have never been in the military, the research team noted.

"The data suggest that the problems experienced by soldiers while on active duty don't end when they separate from the service," said study author David Rudd, of the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. "Rather, a large number of student veterans continue to experience significant problems, including post-traumatic stress symptoms and suicide risk."

"The reported rate of suicide attempts among student veterans was six times that of the general student population," Rudd noted, "and those reporting 'serious' suicidal thoughts -- those thinking about suicide with a plan -- was more than three times that of the general student population."
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Many Military Vets in College Plagued By Thoughts of Suicide