Open AccessMental Health Impact of Homecoming Experience Among 1730 Formerly Deployed Veterans From the Vietnam War to Current Conflicts: Results From the Veterans' Health Study
Author(s) -
Joseph A. Boscarino,
Richard E. Adams,
Thomas G. Urosevich,
Stuart N. Hoffman,
H. Lester Kirchner,
Joseph J. Boscarino,
Carrie A Withey,
Ryan J. Dugan,
Charles R. Figley
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of nervous and mental disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.749
H-Index - 123
eISSN - 1539-736X
pISSN - 0022-3018
DOI - 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000879
Subject(s) - homecoming , depression (economics) , mental health , psychiatry , odds ratio , odds , medicine , logistic regression , poison control , psychology , demography , environmental health , sociology , history , economics , macroeconomics , art history
We examined the effects of homecoming support on current mental health among 1730 deployed veterans from Vietnam, Iraq/Afghanistan, Persian Gulf, and other conflicts. The prevalence of current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was 5.4%, current depression was 8.3%, and 5.4% had suicidal thoughts in the past month. Overall, 26% of veterans had low homecoming support, which was more prevalent among Vietnam veterans (44.3%, p < 0.001). In multivariable logistic regressions, controlling for demographics, combat exposure, number of deployments, trauma history, and operational theater, low postdeployment support was associated with PTSD (odds ratio, 2.13; p = 0.032) and suicidality (odds ratio, 1.91; p < 0.030), but not depression. For suicidality, an interaction was detected for homecoming by theater status, whereby Iraq/Afghanistan veterans with lower homecoming support had a higher probability of suicidal thoughts (p = 0.002). Thus, years after deployment, lower homecoming support was associated with current PTSD and suicidality, regardless of theater and warzone exposures. For suicidality, lower support had a greater impact on Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.