Postdeployment mental health screening: an application of the Soldier Adaptation Model.

In response to: "Postdeployment mental health screening: an application of the soldier adaptation model," published in the April issue (Mil Med 2011; 177(4): 366-73).

Soldier attitudes toward mental health screening and seeking care upon return from combat.

OBJECTIVE This study examined soldier attitudes about postdeployment mental health screening, treatment, barriers to care, strategies for overcoming barriers, and settings, personnel and timing for conducting postdeployment mental health screening. METHODS Deploying soldiers participated in a voluntary anonymous survey. RESULTS Of 3,294 soldiers, 2,678 (81.3%) responded to the survey. When ...

Association between number of deployments to Iraq and mental health screening outcomes in US Army soldiers.

OBJECTIVE High rates of mental health concerns have been documented in US Army soldiers deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The goal of this study was to compare the postdeployment mental health screening results of US Army soldiers with 1 or 2 deployments to Iraq. METHOD Routine mental health screening data collected from September 7, 2005, to April 27, 2007, in the Soldier Welln...

Domestic violence and deployment in US Army soldiers.

Although military deployment has been suggested as a possible cause of increases in domestic violence, little is known about it. The purpose of this study was to determine if deployment of 6 months to Bosnia predicted early postdeployment domestic violence. Active duty recently deployed (N = 313) and nondeployed (N = 712) male soldiers volunteered to take an anonymous questionnaire. Deployment ...

Getting beyond "Don't ask; don't tell": an evaluation of US Veterans Administration postdeployment mental health screening of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

OBJECTIVES We sought to evaluate outcomes of the Veterans Administration (VA) Afghan and Iraq Post-Deployment Screen for mental health symptoms. METHODS Veterans Administration clinicians were encouraged to refer Iraq or Afghanistan veterans who screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, or high-risk alcohol use to a VA mental health clinic. Multivariate methods were use...