Suicidal behavior after a traumatic event.

This article reviews the literature on the psychosocial and psychiatric consequences (such as a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and elevated suicide risk) for a range of traumatic life experiences, including military combat, criminal victimization, interpersonal and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, sexual retraumatization, natural disasters, torture, and the Holocaust. Possible mechanisms mediating the relationship between trauma and suicide are presented along with suicide risk assessment implications for trauma nurses.