Depression is strongly associated with risk for suicidal behaviors. However, depression is a highly heterogeneous condition (i.e. there are more than 200 combinations of DSM-5-TR depressive symptoms to correspond to a depression diagnosis). Limited research to date has taken an empirical approach to see how people cluster together based on their classification of depressive symptoms and whether people in certain classes are more likely to report suicide outcomes than other classes. This analysis leverages the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and examines classes of depressive symptoms to explore differences in suicide-related outcomes by class among adults endorsing depressive symptoms (n = 41 969).

We used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify classes of individuals’ DSM-5 depressive symptoms presentation and then explored differences in suicide-related outcomes (i.e. suicide plans, suicide attempts) by the resulting classes.

A four-class model was determined to optimize the fit criteria. Class 3 (high depressive symptoms) had significantly greater rates of suicide-related outcomes, followed by class 1 (high depressed mood and moderate worthlessness), with classes 4 and 2 having significantly lower rates of suicide-related outcomes.

The use of LCA provided valuable findings on the importance of leveraging both a multi-faceted assessment of depressive symptoms to identify cases where a high number of depressive symptoms are endorsed, and review of the specific symptoms endorsed. Worthlessness, in particular, may be of particular value to focus on within the context of suicide prevention.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) prospectively predicts suicidal thoughts and behaviors in civilian populations. Despite high rates of suicide among US military members, little is known about the prevalence and course of NSSI, or how NSSI relates to suicidal thoughts and behaviors, in military personnel.

We conducted secondary analyses of two representative surveys of active-duty soldiers (N = 21 449) and newly enlisted soldiers (N = 38 507) from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS).

The lifetime prevalence of NSSI is 6.3% (1.2% 12-month prevalence) in active-duty soldiers and 7.9% (1.3% 12-month prevalence) in new soldiers. Demographic risk factors for lifetime NSSI include female sex, younger age, non-Hispanic white ethnicity, never having married, and lower educational attainment. The association of NSSI with temporally primary internalizing and externalizing disorders varies by service history (new v. active-duty soldiers) and gender (men v. women). In both active-duty and new soldiers, NSSI is associated with increased odds of subsequent onset of suicidal ideation [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.66–1.81] and suicide attempts (adjusted OR = 2.02–2.43), although not with the transition from ideation to attempt (adjusted OR = 0.92–1.36). Soldiers with a history of NSSI are more likely to have made multiple suicide attempts, compared with soldiers without NSSI.

NSSI is prevalent among US Army soldiers and is associated with significantly increased odds of later suicidal thoughts and behaviors, even after NSSI has resolved. Suicide risk assessments in military populations should screen for history of NSSI.

Previous research into religious service attendance as a protective factor against suicide has been conducted only retrospectively, with psychological autopsy studies using proxy informants of completed suicide, rather than prospectively, with completed suicide as a dependent variable.

To determine whether individuals who frequently attended religious services were less likely to die by suicide than those who did not attend so frequently.

We analysed data from a nationally representative sample (n = 20 014), collected in the USA between 1988 and 1994, and follow-up mortality data from baseline to the end of 2006.

Cox proportional hazard regression analysis indicated that those who frequently attended religious services were less likely to die by suicide than those who did not attend, after accounting for the effects of other relevant risk factors.

Frequent religious service attendance is a long-term protective factor against suicide.