Suicide in the Italian military environment (1986-1998)

Objective: The aim of our study was to provide data about suicide and attempted suicide in the Italian military environment from 1986 to 1998. Methods: Italian data were gathered from the clinical documentation archived by the Epidemiological Observatory. These data were collected in a Case Report Form and subsequently sorted into the statistical program database, SPSS, and then processed. Results: From 1986 to 1998, there were 122 suicides and 136 attempted suicides. The most frequently involved ranks were military troops. Subject age range varied from 17 to 60 years. The most frequent ages for both suicides and attempted suicides were 19, 20, 21, and 22 years old. Discussion: The authors assume that the lower predominance of suicide in the military population is mainly attributable to the following factors: screening procedures of military personnel aim to exclude mentally disturbed and the military service provides a young individual with the possibility to belong and to identify himself with a group.