A Predictive Model of Suicidal Behavior in Military Personnel with Borderline Mental Disorders

Relevance. According to the literature, recent years have witnessed an increase in suicide rates among enlisted and non-commissioned contract military personnel, while the proportion of suicides among conscripts has decreased. In most cases, servicemen exhibiting suicidal behavior are diagnosed with borderline mental disorders, underscoring the importance of developing approaches to predict suicidal behavior within this population.
The aim of the study: to develop a model for predicting suicidal behavior in military personnel with borderline mental disorders.
Research objectives: 1. To analyze the structure of borderline mental disorders in various categories of military personnel with suicidal behavior. 2. To study the main factors of suicide risk in privates and sergeants with borderline mental disorders. 3. To analyze the predominant motives and methods of suicidal behavior among privates and sergeants serving under contract. 4. To develop discriminant models for predicting suicidal behavior in privates and sergeants with borderline mental disorders and to propose preventive algorithms for predicting suicidal behavior.
Results. The most common motives for suicidal behavior among military personnel with borderline mental disorders serving in military service are difficulties in adapting to military service and irregular forms of relationships, while military personnel serving under contract have service conflicts, violations in the system of personality-collective relationships, intra-family problems. The developed model for predicting suicide risk in various categories of military personnel makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of early identification of persons with suicidal behavior and psychoprophylactic work in the military, including determining the possibility of further military service under contract. The developed formulas of linear classification functions and an algorithm for determining the prognosis of suicidal behavior of the examined military personnel showed that the factors of suicide risk are a combination of social: level of education, media influence; biological: strength index, Quetelet mass-growth index; standard deviation R–R of heart rate variability intervals and psychological characteristics: history of suicide attempts, addictive behavior, unfavorable psychological and psychiatric history, the level of social introversion. This made it possible to propose a preventive algorithm for predicting suicidal behavior in military personnel with borderline mental disorders and to clarify patient management tactics.

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