TY - JOUR
T1 - Gender differences among veterans deployed in support of the wars in afghanistan and iraq
AU - Street, Amy E.
AU - Gradus, Jaimie L.
AU - Giasson, Hannah L.
AU - Vogt, Dawne
AU - Resick, Patricia A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Center for PTSD, Office of Mental Health Services, Department of Veterans Affairs. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government. The funding agency was not involved in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
PY - 2013/7
Y1 - 2013/7
N2 - Background: The changing scope of women's roles in combat operations has led to growing interest in women's deployment experiences and post-deployment adjustment. Objectives: To quantify the gender-specific frequency of deployment stressors, including sexual and nonsexual harassment, lack of social support and combat exposure. To quantify gender-specific post-deployment mental health conditions and associations between deployment stressors and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to inform the care of Veterans returning from the current conflicts. Design: National mail survey of OEF/OIF Veterans randomly sampled within gender, with women oversampled. Setting: The community. Participants: In total, 1,207 female and 1,137 male Veterans from a roster of all Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans. Response rate was 48.6 %. Main Measures: Deployment stressors (including combat and harassment stress), PTSD, depression, anxiety and alcohol use, all measured via self-report. Key Results: Women were more likely to report sexual harassment (OR=8.7, 95% CI: 6.9, 11) but less likely to report combat (OR= 0.62, 95 % CI: 0.50, 0.76). Women and men were equally likely to report symptoms consistent with probable PTSD (OR = 0.87, 95 % CI: 0.70, 1.1) and symptomatic anxiety (OR = 1.1, 9 5% CI: 0.86, 1.3). Women were more likely to report probable depression (OR=1.3, 95 % CI: 1.1, 1.6) and less likely to report problematic alcohol use (OR = 0.59, 9 5% CI: 0.47, 0.72). With a five-point change in harassment stress, adjusted odds ratios for PTSD were 1.36 (95 % CI: 1.23, 1.52) for women and 1.38 (95 % CI: 1.19, 1.61) for men. The analogous associations between combat stress and PTSD were 1.31 (95 % CI: 1.24, 1.39) and 1.31 (95 % CI: 1.26, 1.36), respectively. Conclusions: Although there are important gender differences in deployment stressors-including women's increased risk of interpersonal stressors-and post-deployment adjustment, there are also significant similarities. The post-deployment adjustment of our nation's growing population of female Veterans seems comparable to that of our nation's male Veterans.
AB - Background: The changing scope of women's roles in combat operations has led to growing interest in women's deployment experiences and post-deployment adjustment. Objectives: To quantify the gender-specific frequency of deployment stressors, including sexual and nonsexual harassment, lack of social support and combat exposure. To quantify gender-specific post-deployment mental health conditions and associations between deployment stressors and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to inform the care of Veterans returning from the current conflicts. Design: National mail survey of OEF/OIF Veterans randomly sampled within gender, with women oversampled. Setting: The community. Participants: In total, 1,207 female and 1,137 male Veterans from a roster of all Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans. Response rate was 48.6 %. Main Measures: Deployment stressors (including combat and harassment stress), PTSD, depression, anxiety and alcohol use, all measured via self-report. Key Results: Women were more likely to report sexual harassment (OR=8.7, 95% CI: 6.9, 11) but less likely to report combat (OR= 0.62, 95 % CI: 0.50, 0.76). Women and men were equally likely to report symptoms consistent with probable PTSD (OR = 0.87, 95 % CI: 0.70, 1.1) and symptomatic anxiety (OR = 1.1, 9 5% CI: 0.86, 1.3). Women were more likely to report probable depression (OR=1.3, 95 % CI: 1.1, 1.6) and less likely to report problematic alcohol use (OR = 0.59, 9 5% CI: 0.47, 0.72). With a five-point change in harassment stress, adjusted odds ratios for PTSD were 1.36 (95 % CI: 1.23, 1.52) for women and 1.38 (95 % CI: 1.19, 1.61) for men. The analogous associations between combat stress and PTSD were 1.31 (95 % CI: 1.24, 1.39) and 1.31 (95 % CI: 1.26, 1.36), respectively. Conclusions: Although there are important gender differences in deployment stressors-including women's increased risk of interpersonal stressors-and post-deployment adjustment, there are also significant similarities. The post-deployment adjustment of our nation's growing population of female Veterans seems comparable to that of our nation's male Veterans.
KW - PTSD
KW - Sexual harassment
KW - Veteran
KW - Women
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U2 - 10.1007/s11606-013-2333-4
DO - 10.1007/s11606-013-2333-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 23807065
AN - SCOPUS:84891154336
SN - 0884-8734
VL - 28
SP - S556-S562
JO - Journal of General Internal Medicine
JF - Journal of General Internal Medicine
IS - SUPPL.2
ER -