Upstream suicide prevention in the U.S. Army: Noncommissioned officers’ perspectives

  • Ayer, L., Holliday, S., Beckman, R., Jaycox, L. H., Elinoff, D., Ramchand, R., Agniel, D., Hoch, E., & Wagner, L. (2024). Upstream suicide prevention in the U.S. Army: Noncommissioned officers’ perspectives. Psychological Services, 21(3), 435–443. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000788
  • Noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in the Army are well-positioned to recognize suicide risk and intervene to prevent suicide among Soldiers. As such, NCOs are required to complete suicide prevention training. To inform Army suicide prevention efforts, this study examined NCOs’ experiences, attitudes, and behaviors related to suicide prevention. 2,468 NCOs completed online surveys about their self-efficacy in discussing suicide with Soldiers, logistical barriers (e.g., not having time and private space), intervention behaviors (e.g., asking about suicidality when it is suspected), and use of soft skills (e.g., active listening, nonverbal communication). Differences among NCOs’ experiences – such as active or reserve status, occupational division, rank, and formal mental health training – were also assessed. Overall, active component NCOs and those with formal mental health training tended to be better equipped for suicide intervention than reserve component NCOs and NCOs without formal mental health training.

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Research summaries convey terminology used by the scientists who authored the original research article; some terminology may not align with the federal government's mandated language for certain constructs.

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