Publication year
2011
Citation Title
The role of intimate relationships, appraisals of military service, and gender on the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms following Iraq deployment.
Journal Name
Journal of Traumatic Stress
Journal Volume
24
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
277-286
DOI
10.1002/jts.20632
Summary
Active Duty Army soldiers participated in pre- and post-deployment screenings. Those who screened negatively for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at pre-deployment were included in the present analyses designed to examine risk and protective factors for post-deployment combat-related PTSD symptoms. Positive appraisals of military service related negatively to a positive screen for PTSD at post-deployment. Being in an intimate relationships slightly increased the odds of screening positive for PTSD after deployment.
Key Findings
Female Soldiers were nearly 2.5 times more vulnerable to post-deployment PTSD symptoms compared to male Soldiers.
Positive appraisals of military service decreased the odds of a positive post-deployment PTSD screening.
Being in an intimate relationship slightly increased the odds of a positive post-deployment PTSD screening.
Female Soldiers who perceived greater impairments in intimate relationships were more likely to screen positive for PTSD.
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop and distribute educational materials to address the unique concerns of female Soldiers living with PTSD
Offer workshops to Service members and their families about the role of appraisals of military service and mental health functioning, emphasizing the positive elements of military service
Continue to provide post-deployment reintegration workshops focused on helping Service members and their families successfully transition following deployment separation
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend continuation of pre- and post-deployment screenings for a wide range of functional domains
Recommend continued research focused on mental health functioning and duty readiness of Service members
Continue to support programs that promote resilience and family readiness
Methods
Data from pre-deployment (45-120 days) and post-deployment (90-180 days) assessments between March 2006 and May 2008 from a large Army installation was used.
Soldiers completed a set of health care screening measures and responded to questions about demographics, psychosocial history, deployment health, and mental health symptoms on a computer kiosk.
Soldiers who screened negative for PTSD at the pre-deployment screening were included in the analyses.
Participants
Two thousand eight hundred ninety-six Active Duty Soldiers participated (94% male).
The majority of participants were White (68%) and had a mean age of 27.40 years (SD = 6.10 years); 67% married or partnered.
Fifty-eight percent of participants were enlisted, with a mean deployment length of 12.70 (SD = 3.20) months.
Limitations
All measures were self-reported which may introduce bias.
Only one Army installation was measured; therefore, results may not generalize to the Army as a whole or to Reserve or Guard troops.
The measure of relationship strength was one-dimensional and does not capture specific dimensions of relationship quality, which could influence the results.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the relationship between pre-deployment mental health screenings and duty restrictions during subsequent deployments
Include non-self-report measures (e.g., clinical interviews) to determine mental health diagnoses
Conduct a similar study with Service members from different branches of the military
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
A retrospective cohort study was conducted to examine risk and protective factors for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms reported by soldiers (n = 2,583) at postdeployment. Positive appraisals of military service related negatively, OR = 0.86, 95% CI [0.83, 0.89], to screening positive for presumed PTSD at postdeployment. Decreases in perceived intimate relationship strength from predeployment to postdeployment were positively associated with presumed PTSD at higher, but not lower, levels of combat exposure; this effect, OR = 1.91, 95% CI [1.08, 3.39], was found only for female soldiers. Overall risk for postdeployment presumed PTSD was found to be nearly 2.5 times greater for women, as compared to men. In addition, positive screening rates of anxiety, depression, hazardous alcohol use, and PTSD increased from predeployment to postdeployment, with the most prominent increase found for PTSD.
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