Mental Health Problems, Use of Mental Health Services, and Attrition From Military Service After Returning From Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan

The Post-Deployment Health Assessments (PDHA) of 303,905 Army and Marine Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and other recent conflicts were reviewed to examine the association between deployment location and mental health care utilization during the first year after return. Associations between screening results and actual use of mental health services were also studied. Results suggest that mental health problems reported on the assessment were significantly associated with combat experiences, mental health care referral and utilization, and attrition from military service.