The current topic has presented a faithful development of the research study so far. The results presented as well as the findings of the research are important in playing the role of informing advisors, policymakers and medical practitioners about the risk precursors and how they may be exhibited differently and how this may help prevent self-harm and suicidal attempts among the armed service members and the veterans in the US militia group. However, there are certain implications of this study regarding professional practice and scholarly work in relation to the field of psychology. This is inclusive of the recommended alterations in psychological concepts and knowledge as well as clinical implications. This section additionally presents suggested research topics which are important in the expansion of knowledge for further exploration. The implications, recommendations as well as suggested further research are drawn from the extrapolation of the research findings.
Implications for professional practice
Despite the alarming prolificacy of the menace of suicide and self-harm in the U.S military whereby a tangible percentage of the U.S soldiers die each year by suicide, still, suicidal activities have a high base rate which can’t be assumed ( Government Accountability Office, 2018). While this research study seeks to integrate a wealth of knowledge in regard to risk and predictive factors of suicide, there still exist important research gaps in the psychological view of understanding suicide and suicidal behaviours.
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Research data seemed to be weakened by the restriction of applying proximal endpoints in the substitute of completed suicidal cases as well as flaws in reporting of suicidal attempts and behaviours. Much effort that has been put forth in regard to suicidal ideation is quite disciplinary and single level approaches which face the restriction of proper funding (Shields, et.al, 2016). Genetic psychiatric samples are necessary for the study to identify the relationship between suicidal attempts and genetic construction. Also, the relationship between aggression and suicide demands additional attention in order to understand the genetic linkages and developmental etiology.
Therefore the following are the recommendations which arise from this study;
This research recommends that to make fruitful advances in the investigation of suicide and the whole ideation, high-level scientific research should be conducted with much rigor which must integrate multiple levels of research rather than single-level studies to provide a reliable national data for the integration of infrastructure for the institutionalization of best strategies.
The study also recommends an improvement in the national monitoring of the necessary steps towards suicidal behaviour through funding of investigative agencies and acquiring an integrated surveillance system.
The study recommends that important tools of recognition and screening of patients are necessary to identify the different causes of the suicidal attempts among victims.
Its further recommended that the possession of firearms should be restricted to the service members who are screened and found not to possess traces of traumatizing experiences. This should also move as far as clarifying the terms of possession of firearms among veterans and those who possess must be victims of post-trauma disorders.
Better quality clinical and health services should be provided for all service members as well as discharged officers. This must also include better dwellings for the veterans and support services.
Suggestions for Further Research Work
Following the limited scope of this study, only a theoretical basis on suicidal rate predictors is given. However, the following research topics are suggested to advance the subject to fruition;
Programs for suicidal prediction and prevention should be developed in coordination with the American Psychiatric Association to aid in accelerated monitoring of suicidal cases (Mash, et.al, 2018).
Interdisciplinary multiple level research should be carried out to diagnose the complete life cycle of suicide (Stanley, et.al. 2018).
Conclusion
Suicidal rates among the U.S veterans and active duty service members are increasing over the recent years. Predictive factors of these suicidal cases include PTSD among soldiers of war in relation to the possession of fire arms, isolated lonely and homeless lives as well as other predictive factors which showed consistency with reviewed literature. Veterans have been presented to suffer a higher risk of suicidal death as compared to active duty service members due to the different tough environments where they tend to find themselves. A thorough theoretical framework was developed for the presentation of crucial results and findings. Generally, the study concludes that the existing suicidal interventions have failed to yield reasonable results because due to lack of enough funding for multiple-level approaches and model developments for suicidal prevention.
Despite the limiting factors identified in this study, the results obtained were worthy the course to aid therapists and counselors in execution of their duties. The study used a systematic review for the analysis of the literature around the predictors of suicide and suicidal ideation to determine how the predictors can help in addressing the problem of suicide among active military personnel and veterans. The study sets forth several recommendations and suggestions for further work which adds weight to the parts which seem lurking and critical for the study. If unique protective factors are identifiable in the multi-level research works, they can be very instrumental for the general mitigation of suicidal risk in the entire active duty and veteran population.
References
Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2018). VA health care. Improvements needed in suicide prevention media outreach campaign oversight and evaluation. GAO. Retrieved January 25, 2019 from https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/695485.pdf
Mash, H. B. H., Naifeh, J. A., Fullerton, C. S., Morganstein, J. C., & Ursano, R. J. (2018). Suicidal Behaviors in Military and Veteran Populations: Risk Factors and Strategies for Prevention and Intervention. In Military and Veteran Mental Health (pp. 401-419). Springer, New York, NY.
Shields, D. M., Kuhl, D., Lutz, K., Frender, J., Baumann, N., & Lopresti, P. (2016). Mental health and well-being of military Veterans during military to civilian transition: review and analysis of recent literature. Report prepared for Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
Stanley, I. H., Buckman- Schmitt, J. M., Chu, C., Rogers, M. L., Gai, A. R., Wagner, R. K., Guiterrez, P. M., & Joiner, T. E. (2018). The military suicide research consortium common data elements: An examination of measurement invariance across current service members and veterans. Assessment .https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1073191118777635
