SUICIDE AMONG MILITARY CONSCRIPTS IN FINLAND - A PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSY STUDY

This study describes suicides during compulsory military service and c ompares them with other young male suicides as part of a nationwide ps ychological autopsy study of all suicides in Finland during a single y ear. The victims' relatives and attending health care personnel were i nterviewed, and data from records were collected, Five of the seven co nscript suicides had a depressive syndrome, often of short duration, T wo victims previously had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide. The most common suicide method was with firearms, Compared with other youn g male suicides, physical illness in conjunction with a psychiatric di agnosis was less common in the conscript victims, Civilian male suicid es tended to have more substance abuse and more severe psychosocial im pairment. They also committed suicide under the influence of alcohol m ore often than conscripts, Interpersonal separation was more often the precipitating event of the suicide among the conscripts than among th e other suicides, Conscripts should be encouraged to utilize health an d social services when they have psychosocial problems or even minor p sychiatric symptoms.