Young Male Violent Death Trends in the General Population during the Vietnam Era

Abstract

Suicide and homicide rates significantly increased throughout the Vietnam War among young American civilian males who constituted the principal manpower pool for the war. Ironically, men who reached military age after the war were at greatest risk. Years of high combat intensity were not associated with higher suicide or homicide rates than years of low combat intensity. Suicide and homicide rates were correlated at .95, suggesting a common source of pathogenesis. No similar trend was found for motor vehicle death. Broad social forces, not the Vietnam War itself, were responsible for the changes in violent mortality trends that we observed among the birth cohorts of men in our study.