Mental Health and Its Influencing Factors in Iranian Soldiers: Review Study

Background and Aim: Mental health is one of the important issues that has been taken seriously in recent years. The issue of soldierschr('39') health is a vital issue that has caused many challenges today. The importance of the problem is especially high when some studies show that the problems of this group are increasing. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of reviewing the mental health status of Iranian soldiers and the factors affecting it. Methods: In this narrative review article, articles published in the 15-year period between 2004-2019 were investigated. Electronic search is done by Persian & Latina keywords; soldierschr('39') health, Mental health of military, Mental disorders of soldiers, army and conscripts, in internal & external databases including SID, Magiran, Medlib, Iran medex, Scopus, Google Scholar, Pubmed. In the initial search, 615 articles related to mental health were obtained. In the next stage, with the focus on the purpose of the study, the screening of the articles was carried out and 286 articles were finally taken and considering the entry and exit criteria, 17 papers were selected. Results: According to the studies studied in this study, it can be said that the mental health of Iranian soldiers is divided into two groups: general external factors (family environment, economic, cultural and psychological factors) and intra-organizational (existing facilities, commanderschr('39') encounters, type of duty depending on how to train). The results of this research showed that some Iranian soldiers have psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, drug addiction, personality problems including paranoid, mania, schizophrenia, hysteria and narcissism. Several factors such as individual, family, social, economic, cultural, managerial, and organizational factors are effective in their mental status. Conclusion: The increase in mental disorders among young people, especially conscripts, makes it necessary to provide effective strategies to improve their mental health. Counseling units in military units can prevent other possible social damages and improve the mental health of individuals. In this regard, the evaluation of the personality characteristics of soldiers at the time of entering military centers and holding workshops can prevent as much as possible from possible damage.