Publication year
2012
Citation Title
Prevalence of perceived stress and mental health indicators among reserve-component and active-duty military personnel.
Journal Name
American Journal of Public Health
Journal Volume
102
Issue Number
6
Page Numbers
1213-1220
DOI
10.2105/ajph.2011.300280
Summary
Stress and mental health symptoms (e.g., depression, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], suicide attempts) were examined in Reserve (n = 18,342) and Active Duty (n = 16,146) component personnel across all branches. Comparisons in stress and mental health symptoms were calculated between component, deployment status, and military theater. Results suggest that Active Duty personnel may be at greater risk for high job-related stress than Reservists.
Key Findings
Overall, Active Duty personnel (both deployed and nondeployed) were more likely to report high stress associated with carrying out military duties and were more likely to need further evaluation for depression than Reservists (deployed and nondeployed); however, no significant differences existed between the two groups on PTSD symptoms.
Deployed personnel in both the Reserve and Active Duty groups showed significantly higher rates of meeting the screening criteria for PTSD than nondeployed personnel.
Reservists who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) reported significantly higher levels of PTSD symptoms than did Active Duty personnel, regardless of the theater in which they served.
Reservists deployed to OIF or OEF were significantly more likely to report suicidal ideation compared to non-Reservists; Reservists who served in any theater were more likely to report an attempted suicide as compared to Reservist who had not deployed.
Implications for Program Leaders
Create differentiated programming for Active Duty and Reserve components that address both prevention and intervention for post-deployment mental health concerns
Offer workshops for Service members that incorporate stress management practices as a coping mechanism
Educate couples who have a history of trauma on positive coping skills before deployment
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage programs to use stigma-reducing language with respects to mental health concerns and treatment to help cultivate help-seeking behaviors
Disseminate information regarding possible symptoms of mental health problems Service members may face after deployment and where individuals and families can find help for those problems
Encourage collaboration among DoD programs and community-based organizations to support a smooth transition for departing Service members
Methods
Data were drawn from two self-reported U.S. DoD Surveys of Health-Related Behavior (2006 reserve component and 2005 Active-Duty personnel).
Surveys were paper questionnaires and self-administered to participants.
Statistical analyses were used to measure differences between groups, such as by component, deployment status, and theater (OIF, OEF, Gulf War, Somalia, etc.).
Participants
Participants included 15,212 traditional Reservists (83% male), 3,130 full-time Reservists (83% male), and 16,146 Active Duty personnel (85% male) across all branches.
Participants were primarily male and White. Most personnel were in lower pay grades (E1 to E6) and most represented the Army service branch.
Reservists were more likely to have higher education levels and be older than Active Duty Service members.
Limitations
Differences between groups were measured at a low significance level; therefore, significant differences should be interpreted with caution given the large sample size.
Results of Active Duty and Reserve component comparisons may be biased due to the data being collected one year apart.
All data were based on self-report and may be biased due to recall error and self-presentation bias.
All variables were measured concurrently; results may be confounded by pre-deployment levels of stress and mental health.
Avenues for Future Research
Gather data from pre-deployment measures of stress and mental health to account for pre-deployment functioning
Collect longitudinal data on differences in health-related behaviors among Active Duty and National Guard and Reservists Service members
Compare and contrast similarities and differences among the physical and mental health symptoms of Active Duty and Reservists' families, especially spouses
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Objectives. We examined stress levels and other indicators of mental health in reservists and active-duty military personnel by deployment status. Methods. We used data from the Department of Defense Health-Related Behaviors surveys, which collect comprehensive, population-based data for reserve and active-duty forces. Data were collected from 18,342 reservists and 16,146 active-duty personnel. Results. Overall, with adjustment for sociodemographic and service differences, reservists reported similar or less work and family stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms than did active-duty personnel. However, reservists who had been deployed reported higher rates of suicidal ideation and attempts than did active-duty personnel who had been deployed and higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology than did any active-duty personnel and reservists who had not been deployed. The highest rates of suicidal ideation and attempts were among reservists who had served in theaters other than Iraq and Afghanistan. Conclusions. Our results suggest that deployment has a greater impact on reservists than on active-duty members, thus highlighting the urgent need for services addressing reservists’ unique postdeployment mental health issues. Also, deployment to any theater, not only Iraq or Afghanistan, represents unique threats to all service members’ mental well-being.
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