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A recent study claims that young female soldiers are more likely to commit suicide. Researchers at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the University of Health Sciences, Maryland came to this conclusion after closely examining the behavior of soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan war between the years of 2004 and 2009.
Robert J. Ursano, psychiatry professor from the University of Health Sciences, Maryland and the author of the recent study wanted to conduct the research in order to understand the consequences of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan on soldiers from America. In order to do this, the researchers gathered data from the Department of Defense and the United States Army connected to the behaviors of 9791 people who attempted suicide.
Inside the study, the scientists have examined the 183,826 monthly controls that were given to soldiers. In order to better understand the suicidal behaviors of soldiers from America the researchers have gathered participants of various ages, genders, ethnic races and education levels.
The people in the study were split into two groups, according to their sociodemographic characteristics and position in the Army. The first category was made up of 163,178 enlisted soldiers. The evolution of the group was analyzed from month to month. The second group consisted of 30,439 officers, whose training and career evolution were different from the others.
Based on the information gathered during the experiment, scientists have concluded that young female soldiers are more likely to commit suicide. There were 95 percent suicide attempts within female soldiers in the US Army. Most of the female soldiers who tried to commit suicide during the war in Iraq or Afghanistan were 25 years old or younger. These numbers decreased among older participants.
The scientists also concluded that education played an important role in their ability to deal with the consequences of the war. Female soldiers who haven’t finished their high school studies were found to be more likely to commit suicide. The new study reveals that war has a more powerful impact on female soldiers as the researchers only found a small number of suicide attempts within men.
This new study is very useful in understanding how to treat traumas in soldiers when they return home. Researchers are planning to conduct more studies in order to better understand what practices to avoid and what keeps the morale of the soldiers up. The new study is one of the most comprehensive ones regarding enlisted soldiers and their behaviors.
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