https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Ragsdale2021

Ragsdale, J. M., Kochert, J. F., & Beehr, T. A. (2021). News from the front: A monthly study on stress and social support during a military deployment to a war zone. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(4), 326–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000278

Using a sample of U.S. National Guard Soldiers (N=101), this study examined how stressors (i.e., combat events, family problems) and resources (i.e., platoon cohesion, family support) were related to mental and physical health (i.e., posttraumatic stress [PTS], depression, overall health, sleep), and positive deployment attitudes (e.g., positive view about deployment). Soldiers completed questionnaires every month for 10 months while deployed to a combat zone. Combat stressors had negative effects on mental health and deployment attitudes, whereas family support and platoon cohesion had positive effects on physical and mental health.

https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000278

Deployment
Trauma
Mental health

Army

Active Duty

Active duty service member

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)

Quantitative Study

Ragsdale, Jennifer M., Kochert, Jonathan F., Beehr, Terry A.

Soldiers deployed to combat zones are likely to experience some stressful situations that can result in individual strains or ill health. In addition to the stressors originating in situ, problems at home can also affect soldiers’ strains and attitudes about deployment. However, they may also possess resources in the form of social support from both their comrades and family that, based on resources theories of occupational stress, can lessen strains or enhance attitudes. A serious problem in examining this issue is the difficulty of studying their occupational stress, because collecting data in their work situation—a combat zone—is inherently complicated. Most studies rely on past recollection of the deployment situation in post-deployment data collections, with some studies including a pre-deployment measure or one data collection during deployment. The present study was the first to collect data from soldiers periodically (monthly) over the course of their entire deployment to a combat zone, which has the advantage of providing more accurate tracking of stressor and resource effects on both their strains and positive deployment attitudes closer to real time. This monthly diary study found that, consistent with resource theories of occupational stress, the previous month’s combat stressors had a detrimental effect on many outcomes, and the resource of social support from work and home during the previous month improved physical health and depression, respectively. Future research should not only replicate this approach to data collection but also extend the measurement periods to examine soldiers’ readjustment process after returning home. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

American Psychological Association

Article

Department of Psychology, University of Tulsa, JMR
Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, JFK
Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, TAB