Guilt as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Depression and Posttraumatic Stress With Suicide Ideation in Two Samples of Military Personnel and Veterans

Depression, posttraumatic stress (PTS), and guilt have been implicated as risk factors for suicide ideation (SI) among military personnel and veterans. Conceptual and empirical work suggests that guilt may mediate the relationship of depression and PTS with SI. The current study explored this hypothesis in two cross-sectional samples of military personnel and veterans (n = 464 and n = 158). Path analyses showed good fit for both samples [Sample 1:chi(2)(1) = 2.18, p = .140; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = .05; WRMR = .23; Sample 2:chi(2)(2) = 1.39, p = .499; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = .00; SRMR = .02] and indicated that depression was indirectly related to SI through guilt for both samples (ps < .038). Furthermore, guilt partially mediated the relationship of PTS with SI (p = .033) in Sample 1 and fully mediated the relationship (p = .016) in Sample 2. The present findings suggest that guilt may be a mechanism for increased risk among suicidal military personnel and veterans with depression and PTS.