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Predeployment gender differences in stressors and mental health among U.S. National Guard troops poised for Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment
Author(s) -
CarterVisscher Robin,
Polusny Melissa A.,
Murdoch Maureen,
Thuras Paul,
Erbes Christopher R.,
Kehle Shan M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20481
Subject(s) - stressor , software deployment , mental health , psychology , public health , psychiatry , clinical psychology , medicine , computer science , operating system , nursing
Increased exposure of women soldiers to combat in current conflicts heightens interest in the question of whether risk and resilience factors differ for female and male military personnel prior to deployment. The authors examined this question in a panel of 522 National Guard soldiers (462 men and 60 women) poised for deployment to Iraq. Soldiers completed a battery of self‐report measures, including the PTSD Checklist, Beck Depression Inventory‐II, and scales from the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory. Modest differences were observed between women and men on predeployment risk factors and some risk‐related correlations with PTSD and depression measures; however, gender did not moderate the associations between hypothesized risk/resilience factors and baseline mental health. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.