Symposia
Program / Treatment Design
Carter E. Bedford, PhD
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
Aoife Trotter, High School Diploma
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
Brad B. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Florida State University, Psychology Department
Tallahassee, Florida
Background: Active-duty soldiers are at increased risk for suicide, yet efforts to develop novel interventions for suicidality in this population have been limited. The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide posits two psychological risk factors for suicide: perceived burdensomeness (PB) and thwarted belongingness (TB). The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of a brief, web-based intervention targeting PB and TB against a physical health control condition in a sample of active-duty soldiers.
Method: Participants were 41 members of the 101st Airborne stationed at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky. Participants were included in the study based on endorsement of suicidal ideation (i.e., score > 0 on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale [C-SSRS]). The sample had a mean age of 26.27 years (SD = 6.83) and was 75.6% male and 65.9% white. After completing a baseline assessment, participants were randomly assigned to the suicide treatment condition or a physical health control condition. Outcome measures were assessed one month following intervention completion.
Results: Hierarchical linear regressions revealed nonsignificant effects of condition on PB and TB. However, after controlling for the effects of age and sex assigned at birth, results indicated a significant main effect of condition on suicide intensity ratings (t = 2.15, β = 0.23, p = 0.039). Participants assigned to the BSA condition experienced a 27.53% reduction in their combined ratings of suicidal intent, suicidal desire, and intensity of suicidal ideation from baseline to one-month follow-up.
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that this brief, web-based treatment for PB and TB may be efficacious for intervening on suicide risk among active-duty soldiers. Due to the nonsignificant effects of condition on PB and TB, future work is needed to identify alternative mediators of the relationship between intervention condition and decreased suicidality, and other potential risk factors for suicide in military populations.