(PS10-60) Higher Psychopathology Predicts Dispositional Suicide Capability and Suicidal Thoughts, Planning, and Impulses in National Guard Members but Not Acquired or Practical Suicide Capability

Although National Guard members are at higher risk for suicide compared to other military populations and the general population, suicide research in Guard members is severely limited. National Guard members have high levels of psychopathology, such as depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and insomnia, however little is known about the relationship between these variables and to what extent they help explain higher suicide capability and suicide risk in National Guard members. Suicide capability is a risk factor for suicide attempts and is measured via acquired capability (ability to make a suicide attempt via experience and exposure, e.g., pain tolerance), practical capability (ability to attempt via knowledge and access to lethal means, e.g., firearms), and dispositional capability (ability to attempt via disposition that leads to increased risk, e.g., fearlessness of death).

A total of 148 National Guard members completed measures assessing anxiety, anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns (fear of cognitive dyscontrol), PTSD symptoms, moral injury, smoking, alcohol use and substance use, depression, depression sensitivity, hopelessness, insomnia, dissociation, disinhibition, boldness, meanness, aggression, psychological reactance, interpersonal support, and reasons for living.

Variables were centered and scaled. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to derive clusters. The number of clusters was determined by the optimal Bayes Information Criterion. Linear regression was used to examine cluster differences on acquired, practical, and dispositional suicide capability using the Suicide Capacity Scale and suicidal thoughts (suicidal ideation, planning, and impulses) using the Depressive Symptom Index - Suicidality Subscale. All models adjusted for age. Tukey's HSD was used for post-hoc pairwise comparisons.

Cluster analysis resulted in three clusters that differed by their levels of overall psychopathology: 1) the low psychopathology group (N=42), which had below-average levels of psychopathology, followed by the 2) average psychopathology (N=70), and 3) high psychopathology (N=36) groups. Groups differed on dispositional capability (F(3,136)= 3.12, p< .03, R²=0.06) such that the high psychopathology group had significantly higher levels of dispositional capability (Mean=34.06, SD=3.75) compared to the moderate psychopathology group (Dispositional Capability: Mean=32.38, SD=5.15). All groups differed on suicidal thoughts (F(3,136)=14.85, p< .01, R²=0.25) such that the high psychopathology group had higher Suicidality Subscale scores (Mean=2.00, SD=2.30) than the moderate psychopathology group (Mean=0.86, SD=1.47), and the low psychopathology group had the lowest (Mean=0.07, SD=0.43).

The present study used mixture modeling to derive groups based on multiple psychopathology variables that have been historically related to suicide. Importantly, we found group differences on dispositional capability and suicidal thoughts. This may indicate that acquired and practical suicide capability are not associated with level of broad psychopathology. Our findings overall may aid in our understanding and prevention of suicide in National Guard members.