Suicide among military conscripts in Finland: a psychological autopsy study

This study describes suicides during compulsory military service and compares them with other young male suicides as part of a nationwide psychological autopsy study of all suicides in Finland during a single year. The victims' relatives and attending health care personnel were interviewed, and data from records were collected. Five of the seven conscript suicides had a depressive syndrome, often of short duration. Two victims previously had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide. The most common suicide method was with firearms. Compared with other young male suicides, physical illness in conjunction with a psychiatric diagnosis was less common in the conscript victims. Civilian male suicides tended to have more substance abuse and more severe psychological impairment. They also committed suicide under the influence of alcohol more often than conscripts. Interpersonal separation was more often the precipitating event of the suicide among the conscripts than among the other suicides. Conscripts should be encouraged to utilize health and social services when they have psychosocial problems or even minor psychiatric symptoms.

Suicides among draftees: biphasic occurrence of suicide during military service

We analyzed all suicides among draftees during the 10-year period 1981-1990. The distribution of 50 suicides followed a bimodal curve with the first peak occurring 20-60 days from the beginning of the military service and the second peak during the early specialization training. Suicides committed during the basic training period were characterized by the absence of preceding alcohol intoxication, which was significantly more often seen in the suicides committed later during service. Most of the cases had been in contact with the medical personnel a short time before suicide. We discuss preventive measures, such as health education directed to both draftees themselves and the medical personnel.

Trends in suicide rates among military conscripts

The purpose of this study was to analyse the trends in suicide rates among conscripts in Finland and to compare them with suicide rates in men of the same age in the general population. The suicide rates among conscripts slightly increased from the mid-1960s until the mid-1970s, but this rise was less marked than among young men in the population as a whole. In the 1970s and 1980s, the suicide mortality among conscripts was half of that among civilian men of the same age in the population. The implications for suicide prevention are discussed.