Discriminators of suicide thoughts and attempts among homeless veterans who abuse substances

Six hundred homeless military veterans who abused substances were examined to determine what factors discriminate between nonsuicidal veterans, those who had suicidal thoughts, and persons who had attempted suicide. Several factors were considered based on attachment theory, including caregiver attachment, sexual abuse, physical abuse, resilience, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Suicide attempters were discriminated from others by psychiatric comorbidity, early abuse, severity of substance abuse, and longevity of drug use. In contrast, the discriminators between nonsuicidal homeless substance abusers and others were elements of attachment and commitments such as marriage, employment, and religiosity. Some implications of the findings for intervention are discussed.