Suicide risk, alcohol consumption and attitudes towards psychological help-seeking among Lithuanian general population men, conscripts and regular active duty soldiers

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between suicide risk, alcohol consumption, and attitudes towards professional psychological help among Lithuanian general population men, conscripts, and regular active duty (AD) soldiers. In total, 1195 Lithuanian adult males participated in the study: 445 men from the general population, 490 conscripts, and 260 regular AD soldiers from the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The study’s measures included: general suicide risk, alcohol consumption levels, frequency of using alcohol as a means to suppress difficult thoughts and feelings, and attitudes toward psychological help. Both military samples showed significantly lower suicide risk than men from the general population. Alcohol use as a means to suppress difficult thoughts and feelings was the most significant predictor of suicide risk and a significant mediator between alcohol consumption and suicide risk in all study groups. Another significant suicide risk predictor and mediator between alcohol consumption and suicide risk—i.e., the value of seeking psychological treatment—was found only in the conscript sample. Results of the current study suggest that there is an opportunity for intervention aimed at the attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help for conscripts. However, that might not be the case for regular AD soldiers, nor the general population of Lithuanian men.