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Documented combat‐related mental health problems in military noncombatants
Author(s) -
Peterson Alan L.,
Wong Vanessa,
Haynes Margaret F.,
Bush Anneke C.,
Schillerstrom Jason E.
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.20585
Subject(s) - mental health , psychology , military personnel , psychiatry , public health , medicine , political science , law , nursing
Although combat‐related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been documented for military combatants, little is known about PTSD in noncombatants. Active‐duty U.S. Air Force noncombatants (N = 5,367) completed a Post‐Deployment Health Assessment upon return from combat zones in Iraq (n = 4,408) or a noncombat zone in Qatar (n = 959). Those deployed to Iraq were significantly more likely to report exposure to someone who was wounded or killed (20.8% vs. 6.3%), feeling in great danger of being killed at some point during deployment (18.9% vs. 3.5%), symptoms of PTSD (4.1% vs. 0.7%), and symptoms of major depression (9.9% vs. 5.4%). These findings suggest that deployment to a war zone is associated with increased mental health problems, even for noncombatants.