Risk and protective factors associated with mental health among female military veterans: results from the veterans' health study.

Autor: Adams RE; Department of Sociology, Kent State University, 215 Merrill Hall, 700 Hilltop Drive, Kent, OH, 44242-0001, USA., Hu Y; Department of Population Health Sciences, Geisinger Clinic, 100 N. Academy Avenue, MC 44-00, Danville, PA, 17822, USA., Figley CR; Tulane Traumatology Institute, Tulane University, 127 Elk Place, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA., Urosevich TG; Ophthalmology Service, Geisinger Clinic, 126 Market Way, Mount Pocono, PA, 18344, USA., Hoffman SN; Department of Sleep Medicine, Geisinger Clinic, 100 N. Academy Ave, Danville, PA, 17822, USA., Kirchner HL; Department of Population Health Sciences, Geisinger Clinic, 100 N. Academy Avenue, MC 44-00, Danville, PA, 17822, USA., Dugan RJ; Department of Population Health Sciences, Geisinger Clinic, 100 N. Academy Avenue, MC 44-00, Danville, PA, 17822, USA., Boscarino JJ; Clinical Psychology Department, William James College, 1 Wells Ave, Newton, MA, 02459, USA., Withey CA; Department of Population Health Sciences, Geisinger Clinic, 100 N. Academy Avenue, MC 44-00, Danville, PA, 17822, USA., Boscarino JA; Department of Population Health Sciences, Geisinger Clinic, 100 N. Academy Avenue, MC 44-00, Danville, PA, 17822, USA. jaboscarino@geisinger.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC women's health [BMC Womens Health] 2021 Feb 08; Vol. 21 (1), pp. 55. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Feb 08.
DOI: 10.1186/s12905-021-01181-z
Abstrakt: Background: This study focuses on factors that may disproportionately affect female veterans' mental health, compared to men, and is part of a larger study assessing the prevalence of mental health disorders and treatment seeking among formerly deployed US military service members.
Methods: We surveyed a random sample of 1,730 veterans who were patients in a large non-VA hospital system in the US. Based on previous research, women were hypothesized to be at higher risk for psychological problems. We adjusted our results for confounding factors, including history of trauma, childhood abuse, combat exposure, deployments, stressful life events, alcohol misuse, psychological resources, and social support.
Results: Among the veterans studied, 5% were female (n = 85), 96% were White (n = 1,161), 22.9% were Iraq/Afghanistan veterans (n = 398), and the mean age was 59 years old (SD = 12). Compared to males, female veterans were younger, unmarried, college graduates, had less combat exposure, but were more likely to have lifetime PTSD (29% vs. 12%.), depression (46% vs. 21%), suicidal ideation (27% vs. 11%), and lifetime mental health service use (67% vs. 47%). Females were also more likely to have low psychological resilience and to have used psychotropic medications in the past year. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses that controlled for risk and protective factors, female veterans had greater risk for lifetime PTSD, depression, suicidal thoughts, and for lifetime use of psychological services, compared to males. Since 95% of the population in this study were male and these results may have been statistically biased, we reran our analyses using propensity score matching. Results were consistent across these analyses.
Conclusion: Using a sample of post-deployment veterans receiving healthcare services from a large non-VA health system, we find that female veterans are at greater risk for lifetime psychological problems, compared to male veterans. We discuss these findings and their implications for service providers.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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