Citation

Hoopsick RA, Homish DL, Collins RL, Nochajski TH, Read JP, Bartone PT, Homish GG. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00127-020-01899-5

PMID

32556425

Abstract

PURPOSE: Research suggests that interpersonal and intrapersonal resiliency factors protect against poor post-deployment mental health outcomes among Reserve/Guard soldiers who have been deployed. There is increasing awareness that never-deployed soldiers are also at risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between resiliency factors and a range of mental health outcomes among a sample of United States Army Reserve and National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers who have and have not experienced deployment.

METHODS: A subset of data was drawn from Operation: SAFETY (N = 360), an ongoing study examining the health and well-being of USAR/NG soldiers. We used a multivariate path analysis approach to examine the simultaneous effects of unit support, marital satisfaction, and psychological hardiness on the following mental health outcomes, concurrently: anger, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. We also examined interaction effects between resiliency factors and deployment status on mental health outcomes.

RESULTS: Greater unit support (ps < 0.01), marital satisfaction (ps < 0.001), and psychological hardiness (ps < 0.001) were associated with less anger, anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptomatology. Psychological hardiness had significant interactions with deployment status on anxiety, depression, and PTSD, such that the protective effects of psychological hardiness were even stronger among never-deployed soldiers than previously deployed solders.

CONCLUSION: Resiliency factors can be targeted for intervention to prevent poor mental health outcomes among USAR/NG soldiers, regardless of deployment status. Further, psychological hardiness may be an even more important protective factor among soldiers who have never been deployed.

Language: en

Keywords

Marital satisfaction; Mental health; Military; Psychological hardiness; Unit support