Suicide in the Naval Service

The authors analyzed records of all suicides in the naval service between July 1965 and January 1972 by officer/enlisted-man status. Officer suicides were demographically similar to civilian suicides, but enlisted men were relatively younger. Data on this sample are compared with demographic data on men in the naval service who attempted or threatened suicide and with the general service population. A relatively small proportion of the suicide sample (10 percent) had had in-service psychiatric hospitalizations. The authors discuss their findings in relation to possibilities for increased detection of the potential for suicide.