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Experiential Avoidance, Pain, and Suicide Risk in a National Sample of Gulf War Veterans.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Grove, JL; Young, JR; Chen, Z; Blakey, SM; Beckham, JC; Calhoun, PS; Dedert, EA; Goldston, DB; Pugh, MJ; Kimbrel, NA
Published in: Arch Suicide Res
2024

OBJECTIVE: Pain confers risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Experiential avoidance (EA), which is relevant to both pain and suicide risk, has not been studied as a potential mechanism for this relationship. The present study tested the hypothesis that pain indirectly impacts suicide risk through EA in a national sample of Gulf War veterans. METHODS: Participants included a stratified random sample of United States veterans (N = 1,012, 78% male) who had served in the Gulf War region between August 1990 and July 1991. Validated scales were used to quantify levels of pain, EA, and suicide risk. RESULTS: Regression analyses indicated independent associations between pain, EA, and suicide risk; moreover, the association between pain and suicide risk was no longer significant once EA was included in model. Bootstrapping analyses confirmed that EA partially accounted for the cross-sectional association between pain and suicide risk, independent of common co-occurring problems, such as depression, PTSD, and alcohol use disorder symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: EA could be a key modifiable risk factor to target in people experiencing pain.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Arch Suicide Res

DOI

EISSN

1543-6136

Publication Date

2024

Volume

28

Issue

1

Start / End Page

295 / 309

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • United States
  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Pain
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Gulf War
  • Female
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
 

Citation

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MLA
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Grove, J. L., Young, J. R., Chen, Z., Blakey, S. M., Beckham, J. C., Calhoun, P. S., … Kimbrel, N. A. (2024). Experiential Avoidance, Pain, and Suicide Risk in a National Sample of Gulf War Veterans. Arch Suicide Res, 28(1), 295–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2022.2160681

Published In

Arch Suicide Res

DOI

EISSN

1543-6136

Publication Date

2024

Volume

28

Issue

1

Start / End Page

295 / 309

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • United States
  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Pain
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Gulf War
  • Female
  • Cross-Sectional Studies