https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Sherman2021

Sherman, H., Frye-Cox, N., & Lucier-Greer, M. (2021). Combat deployment experiences and solider mental health: Examining the factor structure of a combat experiences scale. Military Medicine, usab456. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab456

Using data from 14,860 Soldiers, this study examined whether distinct combat experiences emerged that were differentially related to mental health. Links among combat experiences, post-deployment coping, and subsequent mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety and depression) were examined while accounting for individual (e.g., gender) and interpersonal (e.g., marital status) characteristics. Two distinct forms of combat experiences were identified: expected combat experiences and responsibility for non-enemy deaths. When Soldiers reported responsibility for non-enemy deaths, it was associated with poorer post-deployment coping and, in turn, more mental health symptoms.

https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab456

Mental health

Army

Active duty service member

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Cross-Sectional Study
Quantitative Study
Secondary Analysis

Sherman, Haley, Frye-Cox, Nicky, Lucier-Greer, Mallory

Researchers and practitioners are invested in understanding how deployment experiences impact the nearly 193,000 U.S. service members who deploy in a given year. Yet, there remains a need to adequately identify salient deployment experiences through survey measurement tools and understand how differential experiences are uniquely related to mental health outcomes. Therefore, this study examined the factor structure of an established combat experiences measure from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Service members (Army STARRS) dataset to identify underlying survey constructs that reflect nuanced deployment experiences. Then, we examined the association between diverse combat experiences and current mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety and depressive symptoms) and the mediating role of coping.Data were drawn from the Army STARRS data (N = 14,860 soldiers), specifically the All Army Study component. A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to examine the dimensionality of the combat experiences scale, and then a path model was conducted to examine the relationships between combat experiences, coping with stress following a deployment, and mental health symptoms while controlling for relevant individual and interpersonal factors.Results from the principal component analysis suggested that the Army STARRS combat experiences scale encompasses two components, specifically: “Expected combat experiences” and “Responsible for non-enemy deaths.” Both “Expected combat experiences” and “Responsible for non-enemy deaths” were associated with higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively, and “Responsible for non-enemy deaths” was also indirectly linked to these mental health outcomes through coping with stress after deployment.These findings provide insight into the dimensionality of combat experiences and offer practitioners a more nuanced understanding of how to process unique combat experiences that differentially relate to mental health symptoms.

Oxford Academic

Article
REACH Publication

Auburn University, HS
Auburn University, NFC
Auburn University, MLG