Table 2.
Characteristics of high-risk veterans with and without peri-pandemic suicidal ideation.
| No Suicidal Ideation |
Suicidal Ideation |
Test of difference |
p-value |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 534 (80.8%) |
N = 127 (19.2%) |
|||
| Mean (SD) |
Mean (SD) |
|||
| or |
or |
|||
| N (weighted %) | N (weighted %) | |||
| Pre-pandemic variables | ||||
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Age | 58.3 (14.9) | 54.0 (13.8) | 3.01 | 0.003 |
| Male gender | 449 (89.7%) | 111 (91.9%) | 0.6 | 0.44 |
| White race/ethnicity | 428 (77.7%) | 95 (75.7%) | 0.23 | 0.63 |
| College graduate or higher education | 215 (31.6%) | 42 (27.2%) | 0.99 | 0.32 |
| Married/partnered | 353 (68.0%) | 87 (68.4%) | 0.01 | 0.93 |
| Household income $60K or higher | 313 (58.4%) | 56 (39.7%) | 15.49 | <.001 |
| Worked/retired | 486 (88.3%) | 108 (82.2%) | 3.61 | 0.057 |
| Risk factors | ||||
| Combat veteran | 184 (38.6%) | 60 (47.1%) | 3.24 | 0.072 |
| Adverse childhood experiences | 2.1 (2.3) | 2.9 (2.5) | 3.33 | 0.001 |
| Total traumas | 11.6 (10.2) | 11.6 (9.3) | 0.02 | 0.99 |
| Psychiatric symptom severity | 0.6 (1.3) | 1.7 (1.5) | 8.01 | <.001 |
| Alcohol use problem severity | 6.8 (6.8) | 7.6 (8.7) | 1.14 | 0.25 |
| Non-prescription drug use days in past year | 60.9 (120.8) | 50.0 (112.7) | 0.93 | 0.35 |
| Lifetime suicide attempt | 30 (6.1%) | 24 (18.4%) | 21.3 | <.001 |
| Past-year suicidal ideation | 82 (16.4%) | 74 (58.5%) | 104.67 | <.001 |
| Likelihood of suicide attempt in next year | 80 (14.0%) | 64 (45.6%) | 68.44 | <.001 |
| Number of medical conditions | 3.3 (2.3) | 3.8 (2.4) | 1.89 | 0.059 |
| Concussion/TBI | 45 (11.0%) | 23 (17.0%) | 3.71 | 0.054 |
| Any ADL and/or IADL disability | 97 (21.0%) | 48 (30.4%) | 5.43 | 0.02 |
| Psychosocial difficulties | 16.5 (17.3) | 33.3 (24.5) | 9.31 | <.001 |
| Loneliness | 5.3 (2.0) | 6.8 (1.9) | 8.28 | <.001 |
| Protective factors | ||||
| Currently engaged in mental health treatment | 115 (22.0%) | 54 (41.2%) | 21.22 | <.001 |
| Social support | 17.5 (5.4) | 14.2 (5.2) | 6.35 | <.001 |
| Perceived resilience | 37.7 (7.1) | 31.7 (8.3) | 8.5 | <.001 |
| Purpose in life | 19.9 (5.1) | 14.5 (5.9) | 10.84 | <.001 |
| Dispositional optimism | 4.6 (1.6) | 3.6 (1.8) | 6.51 | <.001 |
| Dispositional gratitude | 6.0 (1.2) | 4.8 (1.7) | 9.54 | <.001 |
| Curiosity | 4.8 (1.5) | 3.8 (1.7) | 7.14 | <.001 |
| Community integration | 3.5 (1.7) | 2.7 (1.6) | 4.61 | <.001 |
| Peri-pandemic variables | ||||
| Hours consume COVID-related media per week | 1.9 (2.8) | 1.9 (2.4) | 0 | 0.99 |
| Infected with COVID-19 | 56 (9.8%) | 21 (17.9%) | 7.12 | 0.008 |
| Household member infected with COVID-19 | 42 (9.0%) | 17 (14.2%) | 3.29 | 0.07 |
| Non-household member infected with COVID-19 | 256 (45.8%) | 68 (50.7%) | 1.08 | 0.3 |
| Positive screen for COVID-related PTSD | 104 (19.8%) | 42 (26.5%) | 2.94 | 0.086 |
| COVID-related worries | 0.2 (1.1) | 0.1 (1.0) | 1 | 0.32 |
| COVID-related social restriction stress | 0.2 (1.1) | 0.5 (1.3) | 2.16 | 0.031 |
| COVID-related financial stress | 0.1 (1.2) | 0.9 (1.5) | 5.8 | <.001 |
| COVID-related worsening relationships | 0.0 (1.1) | 0.1 (1.2) | 1.42 | 0.16 |
| Social engagement during pandemic | 0.0 (1.0) | −0.1 (0.9) | 1.59 | 0.11 |
| Sum of traumas over past year | 1.5 (2.5) | 1.8 (2.1) | 1.24 | 0.22 |
| Currently engaged in mental health treatment | 118 (23.6%) | 69 (55.1%) | 52.61 | <.001 |
| Change variables (from pre- to peri-pandemic) | ||||
| Change in household income | 0.0 (2.1) | 0.4 (2.4) | 1.7 | 0.12 |
| Change in psychiatric symptom severity | −0.6 (1.1) | −0.1 (1.1) | 3.47 | 0.001 |
| Change in alcohol use problem severity | −1.0 (4.1) | −0.8 (4.7) | 0.57 | 0.57 |
| Change in days of non-prescription drug use in past year | 1.6 (95.0) | 4.5 (54.7) | 0.32 | 0.75 |
| Change in psychosocial difficulties | 1.1 (15.8) | 7.0 (22.2) | 1.42 | 0.16 |
| Change in loneliness | −0.3 (1.4) | 0.1 (1.4) | 3.06 | 0.002 |
| Change in social support | 0.3 (4.9) | 0.1 (4.4) | 0.58 | 0.56 |
| Change in perceived resilience | −0.4 (6.1) | 0.3 (6.1) | 1.19 | 0.23 |
| Change in purpose in life | 0.2 (3.9) | 0.0 (4.8) | 0.67 | 0.51 |
| Change in dispositional optimism | 0.1 (1.4) | −0.1 (1.3) | 1.53 | 0.13 |
| Change in dispositional gratitude | 0.0 (1.4) | 0.1 (1.9) | 0.51 | 0.61 |
| Change in curiosity | −0.1 (1.3) | 0.0 (1.6) | 1.01 | 0.31 |
| Change in community integration | 0.0 (1.5) | −0.1 (1.8) | 0.56 | 0.58 |
ADL = activities of daily living, COVID = corona virus disease, IADL = instrumental activities of daily living, PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder, SD = standard deviation, TBI = traumatic brain injury.