Original Contribution Psychiatric Diagnoses in Historic and Contemporary Military Cohorts: Combat Deployment and the Healthy Warrior Effect

نویسندگان

  • Gerald E. Larson
  • Robyn M. Highfill-McRoy
  • Stephanie Booth-Kewley
چکیده

Research studies have identified heightened psychiatric problems among veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). However, these studies have not compared incidence rates of psychiatric disorders across robust cohorts, nor have they documented psychiatric problems prior to combat exposure. The authors’ objectives in this study were to determine incidence rates of diagnosedmental disorders in a cohort of Marines deployed to combat during OIF or OEF in 2001–2005 and to compare these with mental disorder rates in two historical and two contemporary military control groups. After exclusion of persons who had been deployed to a combat zone with a preexisting psychiatric diagnosis, the cumulative rate of post-OIF/-OEF mental disorders was 6.4%. All psychiatric conditions except post-traumatic stress disorder occurred at a lower rate in combat-deployed personnel than in personnel who were not deployed to a combat zone. The findings suggest that psychiatric disorders in Marines are diagnosed most frequently during the initial months of recruit training rather than after combat deployment. The disproportionate loss of psychologically unfit personnel early in training creates a ‘‘healthy warrior effect,’’ because only those persons who have proven their resilience during training remain eligible for combat.

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Re: "Psychiatric diagnoses in historic and contemporary military cohorts: combat deployment and the healthy warrior effect".

Research studies have identified heightened psychiatric problems among veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). However, these studies have not compared incidence rates of psychiatric disorders across robust cohorts, nor have they documented psychiatric problems prior to combat exposure. The authors' objectives in this study were to determine incidence rat...

متن کامل

Implications of psychiatric comorbidity among combat veterans.

Limited research exists regarding the rates of and outcomes associated with psychiatric comorbidity among active duty military personnel. This study investigated the rates of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses among 81,720 U.S. Marines, and assessed the relationships between preexisting comorbid disorders and risk of psychiatric hospitalizations and attrition from service. The study used medical, d...

متن کامل

Psychiatric diagnoses and treatment of U.S. military personnel while deployed to Iraq.

Military personnel deployed in support of combat operations are at significantly higher risk for mental health problems. However, much of what we know about combat-related mental health comes from postdeployment assessments. This study describes the mental health of 1,336 treatment-seeking deployed U.S. military personnel and interventions recommended by military mental health providers in Iraq...

متن کامل

Psychosocial predictors of military misconduct.

The objective of this longitudinal study was to determine psychosocial predictors of military misconduct in a cohort of Marine Corps war veterans. The study included data from 20,746 male Marines who completed a life history questionnaire during initial basic training and were subsequently deployed to a combat zone. Associations between psychosocial variables, psychiatric diagnoses, and subsequ...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2008