Security duties in Northern Ireland and the mental health of soldiers: prospective study.

The psychological effects of conflict in wartime have attracted much interest, 2 but today’s army is more commonly employed to maintain internal security and as international peacekeeping forces. Such duties can result in psychological sequelae, including distress, nightmares, and tension. 4 However, previous research has not included baseline morbidity and nor has it considered working on security duties in Northern Ireland, in which most of the army is employed. We prospectively explored how service in Northern Ireland affects the mental health of military personnel.