Informing measurement of gender differences in suicide risk and resilience: A national study of United States military veterans

Objective: To inform measure selection when examining gender differences in suicide risk, this paper evaluates measure performance for a set of gender-relevant constructs and examines gender differences in mean scores. Methods: A national sample of veterans (n = 968) who had recently attempted suicide (past 6 months) completed measures assessing life experience-, psychosocial-, and health-related constructs. A multigroup latent variable model was used to assess similarity of measurement properties between women and men. Results: Metric and scalar invariance indicated that the latent variables functioned similarly between women and men. Women had higher scores on negative coping, institutional betrayal, and social rejection; men had higher scores on self-compassion, autonomy, and suicide ideation. Conclusions: Measurement properties and gender differences in mean values support the use of these measures for research on gender differences. Findings also suggest further investigation of social rejection, institutional betrayal, and negative coping among women veterans at risk for suicide.