AAS AAS Military & Veterans Suicide Prevention 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Firearms are involved in what approximate percentage of veteran suicides, compared to the general population?
- 25%
- 40%
- 70% (Correct answer)
- 55%
Correct answer: 70%
Approximately 70% of veteran suicides involve firearms, compared to about 50% in the general population, underscoring the importance of means safety counseling.
Question 2: When conducting a suicide risk assessment with a veteran, which trauma-related condition significantly amplifies suicide risk and must be specifically assessed?
- Seasonal affective disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Correct answer)
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Generalized anxiety disorder without trauma history
Correct answer: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD, particularly combat-related PTSD, substantially increases suicide risk in veterans and requires integrated assessment and treatment.
Question 3: The 'warrior culture' stigma barrier in the military most commonly manifests as:
- Reluctance to use VA services due to long wait times
- Fear that seeking mental health care signals weakness and threatens career (Correct answer)
- Preference for peer counseling over professional help
- Mistrust of civilian healthcare providers
Correct answer: Fear that seeking mental health care signals weakness and threatens career
Military culture's emphasis on strength and self-reliance creates stigma around mental health help-seeking, with service members fearing career consequences.
Question 4: Which term describes the psychological pain veterans may experience from a perceived conflict between their actions during service and their personal moral beliefs?
- Survivor's guilt
- Combat fatigue
- Moral injury (Correct answer)
- Operational stress reaction
Correct answer: Moral injury
Moral injury results from perpetrating, witnessing, or failing to prevent events that violate one's deeply held moral beliefs, and is distinct from but overlapping with PTSD.
Question 5: The VA's 'Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation' tool is best described as:
- A brief 3-item screener used in primary care
- A structured clinical interview integrating static and dynamic risk factors (Correct answer)
- An automated computer algorithm for suicide prediction
- A peer support tool used by non-clinical staff
Correct answer: A structured clinical interview integrating static and dynamic risk factors
The VA's comprehensive evaluation is a structured clinical interview designed to capture both historical (static) and current (dynamic) suicide risk factors in veterans.
Question 6: Military sexual trauma (MST) is recognized as a significant risk factor for veteran suicide because it:
- Primarily affects only female veterans
- Is associated with PTSD, depression, and mistrust of institutional support systems (Correct answer)
- Is adequately addressed by standard combat trauma protocols
- Only occurs during active deployment overseas
Correct answer: Is associated with PTSD, depression, and mistrust of institutional support systems
MST affects veterans of all genders, frequently leads to PTSD and depression, and can erode trust in the very institutions meant to provide care.
AAS AAS Military & Veterans Suicide Prevention 2
Firearms are involved in what approximate percentage of veteran suicides, compared to the general population?