Gender-related features of suicidal behaviour among the military in the Russo-Ukrainian war
The article identifies general and gender-specific features of suicidal behaviour among military personnel in the russo-Ukrainian war since 2014. The theoretical and methodological principles and results of research on suicidal behaviour are summarized by authors, in particular its manifestation among military personnel and its gender-specific features. It is noted that suicidal behaviour includes thoughts, intentions, and attempts, completed suicide, which is determined by two criteria: action (inaction) that leads to death, and the presence of a conscious choice and understanding of the consequences of this action. As the one of the theories of suicide factors, the sociological theory, developed on the basis of E. Durkheim’s research is analysed. It is noted that the risk of suicide for men increases due to unemployment, loneliness, and inability to meet the ideals of masculinity, and marriage is also one of the protective factors for them. It is explained why the military demonstrates a higher suicide rate compared to the civilian population. As a result of expert interviews with those who provide psychological assistance to military personnel with suicidal behaviour in Ukraine, the following social factors of suicidal behaviour for the military were identified: lack of social support, stigmatisation of seeking help, pressure within the group, loss of brothers / sisters in arms; crisis of the family institution; organisational and everyday conditions of service (conflicts with command, infrequent rotations, state of exhaustion); economic instability (presence of debts, loans); crisis of the normative and value base (difficulties in finding oneself after demobilisation). For servicewomen, additional factors of suicidal behaviour are: double burden and role conflict, gender-based violence, devaluation of professional achievements, and violation of subordination. Finally, a sociological portrait of the group at risk of suicidal behaviour among military personnel of the russo-Ukrainian war is compiled.
Malocu, A., Malocu, E. (2020). Sociological perspective of suicides. International Journal of Economics, Business and Politics, 4 (2), 319-334.
Kolesnichenko, O.S., Matsegora, Ya.V., Prykhodko, I.I., Chyzhevsky, S.O. (2020). Suicide Prevention among Military Personnel of the National Guard of Ukraine. Kharkiv: NANGU [in Ukrainian]
Vodnik, V.D. (2013). Suicide: causes and ways of prevention. Bulletin of the National University “Yaroslav the Wise Law Academy of Ukraine”. Series: Philosophy, philosophy of law, political science, sociology, 3 (17), 140-160 [in Ukrainian]
Gromyko, O., Semenova, D. (2016). The problem of suicide and suicidal behavior in the military environment. Bulletin of the National University “Yaroslav the Wise Law Academy of Ukraine”. Series: Philosophy, philosophy of law, political science, sociology, 4 (31), 104-112 [in Ukrainian]
Durkheim, E. (1998). Suicide: A Sociological Study (trans. from French by L. Kononovich). Kyiv: Osnovy [in Ukrainian]
Annual report on suicide in the military. Calendar Year 2023. (2023). U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. URL: https://www.dspo.mil/Portals/113/2024/documents/annual_report/ARSM_CY23_final_508c.pdf
Suicide worldwide in 2019: Global health estimates. (2021). World Health Organization. URL: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/341728/9789240026643-eng.pdf?sequence=1
Martsenyuk, T. (2020). “Defenders of the Galaxy”: Power and Crisis in a Man’s World. Kyiv: Komora [in Ukrainian]
Struszczyk, S., Galdas, P.M., Tiffin, P.A. (2019). Men and suicide prevention: a scoping review. Journal of Mental Health, 28 (1), 80-88.
Callanan, V.J., Davis, M.S. (2011). Gender differences in suicide methods. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45, 857-869.
Research briefing: Gender and suicide. Samaritans. (2021). URL: https://www.samaritans.org/about-samaritans/research-policy/gender-and-suicide/
Modern understanding of masculinity: men’s attitudes towards gender stereotypes and violence against women. (2018). UNFPA Ukraine. URL: https://ukraine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Сучасне%20розуміння%20маскулінності_Звіт%20дослідження.pdf [in Ukrainian]
Braswell, H., Kushner, H.I. (2012). Suicide, Social Integration, and Masculinity in the US Military. Social Science & Medicine, 47 (4), 530-536.
Drevitska, О., Butska, L., Syropyatov, О., Kalantay, I., Gorshkov, O., Samoilenko, A. (2022). Analysis of data on completed suicides in military personnel and recommendations for their prevention. Therapeutics, 3 (1), 48-53 [in Ukrainian]
Mykhalchuk, N., Pelekh, Y., Kharchenko, Y., Ivashkevych, E., Zukow, W., Ivashkevych, E., Yatsjuryk, A. (2023). Suicidal behavior as a result of maladjustment of servicemen to the conditions of military service in Ukraine. European Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 21 (1), 90-107.
Ruiz, F., Burgo-Black, L., Hunt, S.C., Miller, M., Spelman, J.F. (2022). A practical review of suicide among veterans: Preventive and proactive measures for health care institutions and providers. Public Health Reports, 138 (2), 223-231.
Shelef, L., Laur, L., Fruchter, E. (2015). Characteristics of the suicidal soldier in the Israeli Defense Force – A review of literature. Disaster and Military Medicine, 1 (10), 1-6.
Sjøgren, S., Asmund, J., Christensen, M., Mayland, K., Pedersen, T. (2024). Military Security and Research Ethics: Using Principles of Research Ethics to Navigate Military Security Dilemmas. Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, 7 (1), 34-47.
Hraban, T. (2024). Thematic analysis in research on social and psychological phenomena. Bulletin of the National University of Defense of Ukraine, 82 (6), 188-195 [in Ukrainian]
Shevchuk, O.V., Mykhaylov, V.S., Panchenko, V.M., Pechenyuk, S.I., Detochka, O.D., Yefimova, V.V., Rozhkova, E.O. (2020). The state of implementation of the state gender policy in the Armed Forces of Ukraine: an analytical report based on the results of a sociological study. Kyiv: Research Center for Humanitarian Problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. URL: https://www.mil.gov.ua/content/gender/Hender20.pdf [in Ukrainian]
Martsenyuk, T. (Ed.) (2021). Invisible Battalion 3.0. Sexual Harassment in the Military in Ukraine. Kyiv: Institute of Gender Programs. URL: https://ekmair.ukma.edu.ua/bitstreams/1e35f997-c7f3-464e-91ab-23b379fd311d/download [in Ukrainian]
Hraban, T., Vyhivska, O. (2023). The influence of the military environment on gender stereotypes of male military personnel (psycholinguistic aspect). Bulletin of the National University of Defense of Ukraine, 2 (72), 136-145 [in Ukrainian]