scholarly journals Understanding the elevated suicide risk of female soldiers during deployments

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Street ◽  
S. E. Gilman ◽  
A. J. Rosellini ◽  
M. B. Stein ◽  
E. J. Bromet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Rate ◽  
Administrative Database ◽  
Survival Models ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The Us ◽  
Regular Army ◽  
History Of

BackgroundThe Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) has found that the proportional elevation in the US Army enlisted soldier suicide rate during deployment (compared with the never-deployed or previously deployed) is significantly higher among women than men, raising the possibility of gender differences in the adverse psychological effects of deployment.MethodPerson-month survival models based on a consolidated administrative database for active duty enlisted Regular Army soldiers in 2004–2009 (n = 975 057) were used to characterize the gender × deployment interaction predicting suicide. Four explanatory hypotheses were explored involving the proportion of females in each soldier's occupation, the proportion of same-gender soldiers in each soldier's unit, whether the soldier reported sexual assault victimization in the previous 12 months, and the soldier's pre-deployment history of treated mental/behavioral disorders.ResultsThe suicide rate of currently deployed women (14.0/100 000 person-years) was 3.1–3.5 times the rates of other (i.e. never-deployed/previously deployed) women. The suicide rate of currently deployed men (22.6/100 000 person-years) was 0.9–1.2 times the rates of other men. The adjusted (for time trends, sociodemographics, and Army career variables) female:male odds ratio comparing the suicide rates of currently deployed v. other women v. men was 2.8 (95% confidence interval 1.1–6.8), became 2.4 after excluding soldiers with Direct Combat Arms occupations, and remained elevated (in the range 1.9–2.8) after adjusting for the hypothesized explanatory variables.ConclusionsThese results are valuable in excluding otherwise plausible hypotheses for the elevated suicide rate of deployed women and point to the importance of expanding future research on the psychological challenges of deployment for women.

scholarly journals Occupational differences in US Army suicide rates

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (15) ◽  
pp. 3293-3304 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Kessler ◽  
M. B. Stein ◽  
P. D. Bliese ◽  
E. J. Bromet ◽  
W. T. Chiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Rate ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Administrative Dataset ◽  
Occupational Differences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Regular Army ◽  
Military Suicide ◽  
The Military ◽  
Joint Associations

BackgroundCivilian suicide rates vary by occupation in ways related to occupational stress exposure. Comparable military research finds suicide rates elevated in combat arms occupations. However, no research has evaluated variation in this pattern by deployment history, the indicator of occupation stress widely considered responsible for the recent rise in the military suicide rate.MethodThe joint associations of Army occupation and deployment history in predicting suicides were analysed in an administrative dataset for the 729 337 male enlisted Regular Army soldiers in the US Army between 2004 and 2009.ResultsThere were 496 suicides over the study period (22.4/100 000 person-years). Only two occupational categories, both in combat arms, had significantly elevated suicide rates: infantrymen (37.2/100 000 person-years) and combat engineers (38.2/100 000 person-years). However, the suicide rates in these two categories were significantly lower when currently deployed (30.6/100 000 person-years) than never deployed or previously deployed (41.2–39.1/100 000 person-years), whereas the suicide rate of other soldiers was significantly higher when currently deployed and previously deployed (20.2–22.4/100 000 person-years) than never deployed (14.5/100 000 person-years), resulting in the adjusted suicide rate of infantrymen and combat engineers being most elevated when never deployed [odds ratio (OR) 2.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.1–4.1], less so when previously deployed (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.1), and not at all when currently deployed (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.8–1.8). Adjustment for a differential ‘healthy warrior effect’ cannot explain this variation in the relative suicide rates of never-deployed infantrymen and combat engineers by deployment status.ConclusionsEfforts are needed to elucidate the causal mechanisms underlying this interaction to guide preventive interventions for soldiers at high suicide risk.

How Accurately Can Bruises Be Aged in Abused Children? Literature Review and Synthesis

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-257
Author(s):  
ARI J. SCHWARTZ ◽  
LAWRENCE R. RICCI
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Interobserver Reliability ◽  
Severe Case ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Abused Children ◽  
Color Wheel ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Supreme Court ◽  
History Of ◽  
Associated Risk Factors

Unlike the severe abuse that was reported in early child abuse literature, more moderate injuries comprise 60% of physical child abuse. These less-severe abuse cases, many with limited, ill-defined bruising, may be more difficult to diagnose than a severe case with multiple-system injury or a child with specific, clearly imprinted bruising. Additionally, as the US Supreme Court observed, "Child abuse is one of the most difficult crimes to detect and prosecute in large part because there often are no witnesses except the victim. Estimates of ages of bruises along with the aging of other injuries such as fractures and brain trauma may offer the only way to associate an injury with a particular perpetrator. Yet, as an aid to child abuse diagnosis and perpetrator identification, visual aging of bruises remains an inexact science, despite recent composite charts that suggest otherwise. Even though it has been stated that it is not possible to age bruises accurately based on color, these opinions have not been represented in the child abuse literature. The study of Langlois and Gresham, to date the only research-based study of bruise aging by appearance, has not yet been cited in the medical literature (Science Citation Index search, August 1994). The available literature does not permit the estimation of a bruise's age with any precision based solely on color. Even for the practitioner to state, as Wilson suggests, that a particular bruise is "consistent with" a specific age implies a level of certainty not supported by the literature. Bruises may be described as "older" if yellow, brown, or green are present, but practitioners should note the limitations of bruise age analysis. Of course, the practitioner must continue to describe the size, shape, location, and color of each bruise accurately. This is best done by written description and drawings along with careful photographic representation. Photographs of a bruise, however, depending on available light and technique, may not represent color accurately. A standard color wheel in the photograph may help. Future research should focus on a number of questions. A study of the aging of bruises, using contusions of known age and history-blinded examiners, could determine how accurate clinical estimates are. Interobserver reliability may also be assessed in such a study. The study of Langlois and Gresham should be repeated to confirm or to refute their findings. A photographic sequence of various bruises from appearance to resolution would give researchers and clinicians a reference of possible colors in different-aged bruises for standardized description. The estimated age of a bruise should never be the sole criteria for a diagnosis of child abuse, but, rather, one component of a comprehensive assessment that incorporates a careful history of the injury, past medical history, family history, associated risk factors, a detailed physical examination, and appropriate laboratory testing.

scholarly journals Review: The Indispensable Force: The Post-Cold War Operational Army Reserve, 1990-2010

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Julie A. Higbee
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Active Duty ◽  
Army Reserve ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Narrative History ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
Strategic Reserve

The Indispensable Force, by Katherine Coker, offers a narrative history of the US Army Reserve in the 1990s and 2000s, when the Reserve transitioned from being a “strategic reserve,” deployed after the active duty army, to an “operational reserve,” frequently deployed along with the active army.

scholarly journals Sociodemographic and career history predictors of suicide mortality in the United States Army 2004–2009

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2579-2592 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Gilman ◽  
E. J. Bromet ◽  
K. L. Cox ◽  
L. J. Colpe ◽  
C. S. Fullerton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States Army ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Suicide Mortality ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Regular Army ◽  
History Approach ◽  
Time In Service

BackgroundThe US Army suicide rate has increased sharply in recent years. Identifying significant predictors of Army suicides in Army and Department of Defense (DoD) administrative records might help focus prevention efforts and guide intervention content. Previous studies of administrative data, although documenting significant predictors, were based on limited samples and models. A career history perspective is used here to develop more textured models.MethodThe analysis was carried out as part of the Historical Administrative Data Study (HADS) of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). De-identified data were combined across numerous Army and DoD administrative data systems for all Regular Army soldiers on active duty in 2004–2009. Multivariate associations of sociodemographics and Army career variables with suicide were examined in subgroups defined by time in service, rank and deployment history.ResultsSeveral novel results were found that could have intervention implications. The most notable of these were significantly elevated suicide rates (69.6–80.0 suicides per 100 000 person-years compared with 18.5 suicides per 100 000 person-years in the total Army) among enlisted soldiers deployed either during their first year of service or with less than expected (based on time in service) junior enlisted rank; a substantially greater rise in suicide among women than men during deployment; and a protective effect of marriage against suicide only during deployment.ConclusionsA career history approach produces several actionable insights missed in less textured analyses of administrative data predictors. Expansion of analyses to a richer set of predictors might help refine understanding of intervention implications.

scholarly journals Predicting non-familial major physical violent crime perpetration in the US Army from administrative data

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Rosellini ◽  
J. Monahan ◽  
A. E. Street ◽  
S. G. Heeringa ◽  
E. D. Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Administrative Database ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Validation Sample ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Machine Learning Methods ◽  
The Us ◽  
Actuarial Model

Background.Although interventions exist to reduce violent crime, optimal implementation requires accurate targeting. We report the results of an attempt to develop an actuarial model using machine learning methods to predict future violent crimes among US Army soldiers.Method.A consolidated administrative database for all 975 057 soldiers in the US Army in 2004–2009 was created in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). Of these soldiers, 5771 committed a first founded major physical violent crime (murder-manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated arson, aggravated assault, robbery) over that time period. Temporally prior administrative records measuring socio-demographic, Army career, criminal justice, medical/pharmacy, and contextual variables were used to build an actuarial model for these crimes separately among men and women using machine learning methods (cross-validated stepwise regression, random forests, penalized regressions). The model was then validated in an independent 2011–2013 sample.Results.Key predictors were indicators of disadvantaged social/socioeconomic status, early career stage, prior crime, and mental disorder treatment. Area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.80–0.82 in 2004–2009 and 0.77 in the 2011–2013 validation sample. Of all administratively recorded crimes, 36.2–33.1% (male-female) were committed by the 5% of soldiers having the highest predicted risk in 2004–2009 and an even higher proportion (50.5%) in the 2011–2013 validation sample.Conclusions.Although these results suggest that the models could be used to target soldiers at high risk of violent crime perpetration for preventive interventions, final implementation decisions would require further validation and weighing of predicted effectiveness against intervention costs and competing risks.

Glittery

2021 ◽  
pp. 75-92
Author(s):  
Bronfman Alejandra
Keyword(s):  
Signal Amplification ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Us Army ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Single Radio ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
Point Of Departure

During the commercial broadcasting boom of the 1920s, mica became an essential component of various radio parts, especially the audion vacuum tube, which became central to signal amplification during this period. As uses multiplied and factories produced greater quantities of sound-reproduction machines, the demand for mica exploded. This chapter traces a history of mica through the interwar years, arguing that the newfound necessity of this mineral pushed radio manufacturing into an existing—and vexed—infrastructure held together through exploitative labor regimes, environmental degradation, and the tense politics of empire during this period. It uncovers the surprisingly far-reaching political and social contexts involved in the production of a single radio component. The point of departure is RCA’s effort to find alternative sources of mica, which was primarily controlled by UK interests that, in turn, controlled key mica mines in India. These mines relied on female and child workers, deemed by many observers as the most efficient at splitting the extracted mineral into fine sheets. Such considerations drew RCA into direct negotiations with the US Bureau of Mines, the US Army, and mica mines in Appalachia and New Hampshire, thereby tethering them to hundreds of women and children in various parts of the world whose labor they deemed essential to their enterprise.

scholarly journals New programme for climate monitoring at Camp Century, Greenland

2017 ◽  
pp. 57-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Colgan ◽  
Signe B. Andersen ◽  
Dirk Van As ◽  
Jason E. Box ◽  
Søren Gregersen
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Future Goals ◽  
Climate Monitoring ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government

Camp Century was a military base constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 1959 in the nearsurface layers of the Greenland ice sheet at 77.13°N and 61.03°W and 1910 metres above sea level (Clark 1965). The c. 55 ha base housed between 85 and 200 soldiers and was continuously occupied until 1964 (Fig.1). Camp Century primarily served as an experimental facility for the USACE to test ice-sheet construction concepts. Recent Danish scholarship has documented the political and military history of Camp Century in substantial detail (Petersen 2007; Nielsen & Nielsen 2016). To summarise, Project Iceworm, the US Army ambition to deploy offensive missiles within the ice sheet, was never realised. After three years of seasonal operation, Camp Century was finally abandoned with minimal decommissioning in 1967. The Government of Denmark has now established a GEUS-led programme for long-term climate monitoring, as well as one-time waste mapping, at Camp Century. Here, we briefly review the historical scientific activities at Camp Century and introduce the future goals of the Camp Century Climate Monitoring Programme. Finally, we discuss the challenges and outlook of climate monitoring and waste mapping at the former military site.

scholarly journals Managing High Water Levels in Florida’s Largest Lake: Lake Okeechobee

EDIS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Havens
Keyword(s):  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Lake Okeechobee ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of

This 7-page fact sheet written by Karl E. Havens and published by the Florida Sea Grant College Program, UF/IFAS Extension, provides a history of Lake Okeechobee regulation schedules and an overview of the risks, constraints, and trade-offs that the US Army Corps of Engineers must consider when deciding to release flood water from the lake. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg154

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