Psychopathology and Suicidal Ideation Among Female Veterans Exposed to Military Sexual Trauma

Female veterans die by suicide at roughly twice the rate of female civilians, and military sexual trauma is a known risk factor. Little is known, however, about the relation between personality disorders and suicidal ideation in female veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma. This study examined personality disorder symptoms and other clinical conditions in relation to suicidal ideation. Participants were 92 female veterans who endorsed military sexual trauma anonymously completed five measures assessing for suicidal ideation and psychopathology. Ordinal logistic regression models tested associations between suicidal ideation and (a) ten personality disorder symptom scales and (b) post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders, tested both together and separately. Nearly half of participants (48.9%) reported suicidal ideation at the highest risk level. Borderline personality disorder symptoms were associated with more severe suicidal ideation (OR = 1.26, 95% CI [1.14, 1.41]); the other nine personality disorder symptom scales were not significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, depression, and anxiety were each associated with suicidal ideation in separate models, but none remained significant when entered together with alcohol and drug use disorders. Substance use disorders were not associated with suicidal ideation in either set of models. Borderline features may be an informative marker of risk for suicidal ideation among female veterans with military sexual trauma. However, these findings require replication in larger samples, and causality ought to be explored in longitudinal designs.