# Predicting Suicide Behavior Among High-Risk Veterans Using a Multimethod Assessment of Reactive Aggression

> **NIH VA IK1** · OLIN TEAGUE VETERANS CENTER · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Although Veteran suicide prevention is the top VA clinical priority, a striking number of Veterans
attempt suicide: around 17 Veterans die by suicide each day. Decades of research have gone to
furthering VA’s understanding of suicide risk, yet some important risk factors remain understudied.
Reactive aggression, or aggressive behavior in response to provocation, represent a consistent, robust
risk factor for suicide behaviors among civilians, but is seldom studied as a suicide behavior risk factor
among Veterans. Further, the sparse existing research examining the association between aggression
and suicide in Veterans is limited by 1) conflation of reactive and proactive (unprovoked) aggression;
2) potentially misleading results due to inadequate power to predict low base-rate events, such as
suicide behavior; 3) an overreliance on self-report measures of aggression; and 4) a lack of attention
given to Veteran cultural factors relevant in understanding suicide risk.
 The objective of this Career Development Award-1 (CDA-1) is to explore the association between
reactive aggression and suicide behaviors among a sample of Veterans at high-risk for suicide. This
objective will be accomplished with the following specific aims: 1) prospectively analyze the association
between self-reported current reactive aggression and suicidal behavior while controlling for past suicidal
behavior; 2) assess the acceptability and utility of a multimethod assessment of aggression; and 3) test the
unique contributions of specific military experiences (e.g., years of service, combat experience, date
since separation) to reactive aggression and suicide behaviors. To accomplish these aims, Dr. Krauss
will leverage Dr. Marianne Goodman’s (primary mentor) CSR&D-funded clinical trial of Project Life
Force (PLF; CX001705), a suicide safety planning intervention. PLF was recently selected as one of
the five ORD-funded research projects nationally to be featured for VA research Week 2022. Veterans
(N ~ 200) will complete self-report measures of reactive aggression and suicide behaviors and a
clinician-administered interview of suicidal ideation and behavior. Dr. Krauss will also administer a
clinician-administered interview and laboratory based task of aggression to a subset of Veterans in this
parent study as part of a multimethod assessment of aggression designed for this proposal.
 This CDA-1 will provide support to advance Dr. Krauss’s goal of becoming an independent VA
research psychologist with expertise in suicide prevention among Veterans. To achieve this goal, Dr.
Krauss has crafted a rigorous yet attainable training plan with the following training goals: (1) gain new
knowledge and skills in suicide prevention research methodology; (2) learn how to administer and
interpret a multimethod assessment of aggression; (3) master advanced statistical techniques based
on counterfactual approaches to causal inference and modern missing data analyses; (4) identify
Veteran-speci...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10802123
- **Project number:** 1IK1CX002650-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** OLIN TEAGUE VETERANS CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Alison Krauss
- **Activity code:** IK1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10802123

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10802123, Predicting Suicide Behavior Among High-Risk Veterans Using a Multimethod Assessment of Reactive Aggression (1IK1CX002650-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10802123. Licensed CC0.

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