The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder
Background The mental health outcomes of military personnel deployed on peacekeeping missions have been relatively neglected in the military mental health literature....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2016-01-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472400001125/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811157089554268160 |
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| author | David Forbes Meaghan O'Donnell Rachel M. Brand Sam Korn Mark Creamer Alexander C. McFarlane Malcolm R. Sim Andrew B. Forbes Graeme Hawthorne |
| author_facet | David Forbes Meaghan O'Donnell Rachel M. Brand Sam Korn Mark Creamer Alexander C. McFarlane Malcolm R. Sim Andrew B. Forbes Graeme Hawthorne |
| author_sort | David Forbes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Background
The mental health outcomes of military personnel deployed on peacekeeping
missions have been relatively neglected in the military mental health
literature.
Aims
To assess the mental health impacts of peacekeeping deployments.
Method
In total, 1025 Australian peacekeepers were assessed for current and
lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, service history and exposure to
potentially traumatic events (PTEs). A matched Australian community
sample was used as a comparator. Univariate and regression analyses were
conducted to explore predictors of psychiatric diagnosis.
Results
Peacekeepers had significantly higher 12-month prevalence of
post-traumatic stress disorder (16.8%), major depressive episode (7%),
generalised anxiety disorder (4.7%), alcohol misuse (12%), alcohol
dependence (11.3%) and suicidal ideation (10.7%) when compared with the
civilian comparator. The presence of these psychiatric disorders was most
strongly and consistently associated with exposure to PTEs.
Conclusions
Veteran peacekeepers had significant levels of psychiatric morbidity.
Their needs, alongside those of combat veterans, should be recognised
within military mental health initiatives.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:01:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56e5ca11d4ed40f690037a83493b2f47 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:01:16Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-56e5ca11d4ed40f690037a83493b2f472023-03-09T12:28:36ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242016-01-012323710.1192/bjpo.bp.115.001321The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorderDavid Forbes0Meaghan O'Donnell1Rachel M. Brand2Sam Korn3Mark Creamer4Alexander C. McFarlane5Malcolm R. Sim6Andrew B. Forbes7Graeme Hawthorne8Phoenix Australia – Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaMental Health Evaluation Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaPhoenix Australia – Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaCentre for Traumatic Stress Studies, University of Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaMonash Centre for Occupational & Environmental Health, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaMental Health Evaluation Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaMental Health Evaluation Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaMental Health Evaluation Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaMental Health Evaluation Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Background The mental health outcomes of military personnel deployed on peacekeeping missions have been relatively neglected in the military mental health literature. Aims To assess the mental health impacts of peacekeeping deployments. Method In total, 1025 Australian peacekeepers were assessed for current and lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, service history and exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs). A matched Australian community sample was used as a comparator. Univariate and regression analyses were conducted to explore predictors of psychiatric diagnosis. Results Peacekeepers had significantly higher 12-month prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (16.8%), major depressive episode (7%), generalised anxiety disorder (4.7%), alcohol misuse (12%), alcohol dependence (11.3%) and suicidal ideation (10.7%) when compared with the civilian comparator. The presence of these psychiatric disorders was most strongly and consistently associated with exposure to PTEs. Conclusions Veteran peacekeepers had significant levels of psychiatric morbidity. Their needs, alongside those of combat veterans, should be recognised within military mental health initiatives. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472400001125/type/journal_article |
| spellingShingle | David Forbes Meaghan O'Donnell Rachel M. Brand Sam Korn Mark Creamer Alexander C. McFarlane Malcolm R. Sim Andrew B. Forbes Graeme Hawthorne The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder BJPsych Open |
| title | The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder |
| title_full | The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder |
| title_fullStr | The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder |
| title_short | The long-term mental health impact of peacekeeping: prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder |
| title_sort | long term mental health impact of peacekeeping prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorder |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472400001125/type/journal_article |
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