In 2024-2025, the second national wave of ASCEND data collection surveyed 15,243 Veterans. For this wave, Veterans were sampled across all U.S. states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, to engage a unified, geographically comprehensive national sample. Broadening sampling efforts from Wave 1 improved the generalizability of findings to Veterans across the U.S. Findings are summarized below, with additional details available in the 2026 ASCEND Report.

Key Findings

Suicidal Ideation

• As in Wave 1 (2022), 1 in 3 U.S. Veterans in Wave 2 (2024) experienced suicidal ideation in their lifetime.
• From Wave 1 (2022) to Wave 2 (2024), post-military suicidal ideation among Veterans increased significantly, by 6.8%.
• In 2024, 27.7% of Veterans experienced suicidal ideation after separation from military service.
• From Wave 1 (2022) to Wave 2 (2024), past-year suicidal ideation among Veterans also increased significantly, by 12.7%.
• In 2024, 14.3% of Veterans experienced suicidal ideation in the past year.
• Gunshot remained the most commonly considered suicide method among Veterans who experienced suicidal ideation in the past year.

Suicide Attempts

• 6.6% of Veterans attempted suicide in their lifetime.
• There were not significant changes in the prevalence of post-military or past-year suicide attempts among Veterans from Wave 1 (2022) to Wave 2 (2024).
• Suicide attempts were most prevalent after military service.
• Less than 1% of Veterans (0.5%) attempted suicide in the past year.
• Medication overdose remained the most commonly used method of lifetime non-fatal suicide attempts among living Veterans.

Subgroup Differences

• Sex: Consistent with Wave 1 (2022), female Veterans experienced a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation at all timepoints and lifetime suicide attempts in Wave 2 (2024).
• Age: Consistent with Wave 1 (2022), the prevalence of lifetime suicidal ideation, lifetime suicide attempts, and past-year suicidal ideation in Wave 2 (2024) was highest for Veterans ages 18-34 and decreased steadily with increasing age.
• VHA Use Group: From Wave 1 (2022) to Wave 2 (2024), among Veterans who had used Veterans Health Administration (VHA) services in the past , the prevalence of past-year suicidal ideation increased by 43.7%. However, as in Wave 1 (2022), the prevalence of lifetime and past-year suicidal ideation was higher among Veterans who were currently using or who had previously used VHA services, compared to Veterans who had never used any VHA services.
• Race/Ethnicity:Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic Veterans experienced a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation following separation from military service than White Veterans.
• Rurality: Consistent with Wave 1 (2022), the prevalence of lifetime and post-military suicidal ideation did not differ significantly between Veterans living in rural and non-rural areas. However, among Veterans residing in non-rural areas, post-military suicidal ideation prevalence increased by 8.4% from Wave 1 (2022) to Wave 2 (2024).
• Region: Veterans living in the Mountain and West South Central Census divisions experienced the highest prevalence of lifetime and post-military suicidal ideation. Conversely, prevalence was lowest among Veterans living in New England.

Future Impact

• Linking ASCEND data from Waves 1 (2022), 2 (2024), and 3 (planned) with mortality data will improve understanding of drivers of suicide and other causes of death in the Veteran population.

In 2022, the first national wave of ASCEND data collection surveyed 17,396 Veterans residing in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, as well as a pilot sample of 553 Veterans in Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Complete findings are available in the 2024 ASCEND Report and are summarized below.

Key Findings

Suicidal Ideation

• 1 in 3 Veterans experienced suicidal ideation in their lifetime.
• 26% experienced suicidal ideation after separation from military service.
• 12.7% experienced suicidal ideation in the past year.
• Gunshot was the most commonly considered suicide method among Veterans who experienced suicidal ideation in the past year.

Suicide Attempts

• 7% of Veterans attempted suicide in their lifetime.
• Suicide attempts were most prevalent after military service.
• Less than 1% of Veterans (0.6%) attempted suicide in the past year.
• Medication overdose was the most commonly used method of lifetime suicide attempt among living Veterans.

Subgroup Differences

• Sex: Female Veterans experienced a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts at all time periods examined, relative to male Veterans.
• Age: Veterans ages 18-34 had the highest prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts at all time periods examined.
• VHA Use Group: Current Veterans Health Administration (VHA) users experienced a higher prevalence of lifetime and past-year suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempt than Veterans who had never used any VHA services.
• Race/Ethnicity: Veterans who identified as American Indian, Alaska Native, or Asian experienced a higher prevalence of both lifetime suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempt than White Veterans.
• Rurality: Differences in suicidal ideation and suicide attempt prevalence were not observed between Veterans living in rural and non-rural areas.
• Region: Veterans living in the West experienced the highest prevalence of lifetime and post-military suicidal ideation.

Future Impact

• Recurring waves of ASCEND data collection will be instrumental to improve understanding of non-fatal suicidal self-directed violence trends over time and across Veteran subpopulations.

Suicidal Ideation, Interrupted Attempt, and Suicide Attempts among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Veterans: This analysis examined the prevalence of suicidal ideation, interrupted attempts, and suicide attempts among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Veterans, overall and disaggregated between Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Veterans and compared to non-AANHPI Veterans. Prevalence was also stratified by age, sex, and multi-racial identity to identify potential subgroup differences. Read the article

Geospatial Estimates of Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts in U.S. Veterans: This publication reports on the prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among U.S. Veterans by Census region, division, and state. Methods used in lifetime suicide attempts and considered in past year suicidal ideation were also examined by region. Read the article

Suicidal Ideation and Non-Fatal Suicidal Self-Directed Violence among Veterans residing in U.S. Pacific Island Territories: This publication provides results from the Wave 1 pilot study on the feasibility of surveying Veterans residing in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa on suicidal ideation and non-fatal suicidal self-directed violence. We also report on the prevalence of suicidal ideation and non-fatal suicidal self-directed violence among Veterans in this understudied region. Read the article

Gender Differences in Non-Fatal Suicidal Self-Directed Violence among U.S. Veterans: In this publication, we examined gender differences in the prevalence of different types of suicidal ideation and non-fatal suicidal self-directed violence and methods considered and used among Veterans. We also examined prevalence across demographic (e.g., age, race, ethnicity, geographic region, rurality, time since separation) and VHA use subgroups. Read the article

Increasing Participation in Survey Research among U.S. Veterans: This publication discusses results from an embedded experiment that examined the effect of receiving tailored inserts (i.e., recruitment materials with images of Veterans from one's demographic group), compared to a generic insert (i.e., images from a variety of demographic groups) or no insert. Read the article

Racial/Ethnic Discrimination among U.S. Veterans: In this analysis, we examined the psychometric performance of self-report measures of discrimination (the Everyday Discrimination and Major Experiences of Discrimination Scales) among Veterans who identified as persons of color. We also examined associations between these measures of everyday discrimination and major discrimination with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Read the article

Non-Fatal Suicidal Self-Directed Violence among U.S. Veterans: This analysis of ASCEND Wave 1 data reports the prevalence of suicidal ideation and non-fatal suicidal self-directed violence (i.e., preparatory behaviors, interrupted suicide attempts and suicide attempts) in the general U.S. Veteran population. Read the article

Suicidal Ideation During COVID: This analysis of ASCEND pilot data sought to increase understanding of Veterans’ experiences of suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic, including prevalence, correlates, and perceived impact of the pandemic. Read the article

Perceived Impact of Pandemic Scale: This analysis assessed the validity of a new measure, the Perceived Impact of the Pandemic Scale (PIPS), that assessed the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on personal health and well-being, interpersonal relationships, and finances. Read the article

Veteran Engagement: This manuscript describes how Veteran engagement has shaped the ASCEND project, including our approach and methods. Read the article

Surveillance: This manuscript describes the initial aims/goals and rationale for ASCEND. Read the article