There is an apparently disproportionate number of suicides among non-commissioned officers [sergeants and corporals] in the Defence Forces compared to other ranks, according to a study to be made public this weekend.
Researchers from University College Dublin and St Bricin's Military Hospital will present a review of more than 90 suicides in the Defence Forces, at the annual meeting of the Irish Association of Suicidology in Belfast this weekend.
More than 50 per cent of suicides in the Republic's forces were by firearms, they conclude.
Following a detailed examination of personnel files, autopsy and coroners reports and inquest findings for all recorded deaths in the period 1970 to 2002, preliminary results suggest there has been a significant level of under reporting of suicide in the Defence Forces.
According to Prof Kevin Malone, professor of adult psychiatry at UCD and consultant psychiatrist at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, this is not surprising as it reflects an under-reporting trend in the civilian population in the 1970s and '80s.
He noted that, in the past, coroners were more likely to record an open verdict rather than one of suicide unless the circumstances of death were "clear-cut".
The finding that 50 per cent of armed forces suicides were by firearms contrasts with the civilian male population, for whom the principal methods of self-harm are hanging and drowning.
"We predicted it would be higher than in civilians, but we did not expect it to be so high. Availability of lethal means is often an underestimated risk variable, and studying a population with greater access to such a lethal instrument gives us an unique opportunity to prove this point," Prof Malone told The Irish Times.
However, a majority of firearms deaths occurred off-duty and were associated with a privately-owned rather than a military weapon.
The study, which was jointly funded by the Department of Defence and the National Suicide Review Group, found that 76 per cent of suicides were among privates, 15 per cent were of non-commissioned officers and 9 per cent were officers. Compared to the total number serving in each rank, this represents a "sizeable minority" of suicides among non-commissioned officers.
Asked why this might be, Prof Malone said it could represent increased responsibility and more job stress. The under treatment of depressive disorders in this group may emerge as another contributory factor.
He noted that his group's findings mirror recent trends reported in the US army, although levels of post-traumatic stress disorder among troops engaged principally in peacekeeping duties have yet to be researched.
"If we can now go on and create a successful prevention model among Army personnel it offers the possibility of applying such a model to a wider group in society," Prof Malone said.
A separate study to be presented at the weekend meeting looked at suicidal behaviour among almost 300 people with psychiatric illness in Belfast and Dublin. According to lead researcher, Dr Noreen Bannan, "people who had made a suicide attempt were much more likely to have experienced a combination of recent life-threatening events, recent psychiatric illness and a past history of abuse".