WASHINGTON – Emotional distress is the most common reason U.S. service members take their own lives, a Pentagon-funded study finds.
USA Today reports that when researchers at the University of Utah asked 72 soldiers at Fort Carlson, Colo., why they attempted suicide, all included a desire to end intense emotional distress.
The study gave soldiers 33 reasons to choose from, and the service members listed an average of 10 each. Other reasons included ending chronic sadness, a way to escape people and a way to show desperation.
Soldier suicides have soared since 2005, USA Today says, and military members this year are killing themselves at the rate of one per day.
Read the full story here: http://usat.ly/LOsrst
Follow WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
