UNDERSTANDING AND ENHANCING SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGIES IN THE MILITARY: THE ROLES OF CULTURE, LEADERSHIP, AND COMMAND CLIMATE
Military service members are shaped and molded to fit a military culture that emphasizes mission readiness and continuous preparedness. Countless hours are spent training for various situations that can arise. Many trainings are geared toward worst-case scenarios that can cause an increase in stressors and traumatic events. They are expected to demonstrate resilience and overcome adversity to remain mission-ready. This expectation to be mission-ready creates the space for mental health difficulties as well as stigma and avoidance of help-seeking behaviors. In many cases, the desire to stay mission-ready creates a barrier for conversations around mental health. The military emphasizes qualities such as discipline, resilience, and self-reliance (Heward et al., 2024), which leads to the perception that emotional vulnerability is a weakness. This perception leads to avoidance of help-seeking behaviors, which increases the chances of suicide. Military culture has intangible beliefs that are not learned but rather developed through experience (Britt et al., 2008; Grimell, 2024). Beliefs such as camaraderie, resilience, and stoicism may cause service members to avoid seeking help in moments of distress, out of a desire not to leave their fellow comrades unsupported. This need to not be the weakest link reinforces the stigma around mental health and help-seeking. Leadership in any command significantly influences how service members perceive mental health and seeking help, as it is at the core of what creates the command climate. Through the lens of social learning and learned helplessness, this literature review explores the roles that military culture, leadership, and the command climate play in influencing suicide risk (Bandura, 1977; Seligman, 1972). Additionally, it critically reviews current instructions, regulations, and orders to assess their effectiveness. Finally, it proposes a relational model that may help bridge the gap between service members and mental health providers, utilizing a community engagement approach.
Military culture, Leadership in the military, Command climate, Suicide risk in military personnel, Suicide prevention in the military, mental health stigma, group cohesion, morale, intervention strategies, and help-seeking behaviors, community engagement, beat cop, beat officer, community policing, Civic and Community Engagement, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Community Health, Community Psychology, Military and Veterans Studies, Other Mental and Social Health, Psychological Phenomena and Processes
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