Suicidality
Suicide and suicidal ideation warrant unique attention as they represent prominent health-related concerns that appear to be influenced by dual diagnoses among veteran samples. While suicide has been determined to be the eighth greatest cause of death among males in the USA general population, rates of suicide double among veterans (Kaplan et al., 2007). In fact, veterans comprise fewer than 10 percent of the USA citizenry and account for 22 percent of completed suicides (Kemp and Bossarte, 2013). Mental illness and addiction have been implicated as potential causal agents in veteran suicide, with particularly elevated risk among veterans with a dual diagnosis (Mohamed, 2013).