A comparison of mental health outcomes in persons entering U.S. military service before and after September 11, 2001

Timothy S. Wells*, Margaret A.K. Ryan, Kelly A. Jones, Tomoko I. Hooper, Edward J. Boyko, Isabel G. Jacobson, Tyler C. Smith, Gary D. Gackstetter

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

It has been hypothesized that those who entered military service in the pre-September 11, 2001 era might have expectations incongruent with their subsequent experiences, increasing the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other mental disorders. A subset of Millennium Cohort Study participants who joined the military during 1995-1999 was selected and compared with a subset of members who joined the military in 2002 or later. Outcomes included new-onset symptoms of PTSD, depression, panic/anxiety, and alcohol-related problems. Multivariable methods adjusted for differences in demographic and military characteristics. More than 11,000 cohort members were included in the analyses. Those who entered service in the pre-September 11 era had lower odds of new-onset PTSD symptoms (odds ratio [OR] 0.74, 95% CI [0.59, 0.93]) compared with the post-September 11 cohort. There were no statistically significant differences in rates of new-onset symptoms of depression, panic/anxiety, or alcohol-related problems between the groups. The cohort who entered military service in the pre-September 11 era did not experience higher rates of new-onset mental health challenges compared with the cohort who entered service after September 11, 2001. Findings support the concept that the experience of war, and resulting psychological morbidity, is not a function of incongruent expectations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17-24
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Traumatic Stress
Volume25
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2012

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