People who are not in the mental health field may think that posttraumatic stress disorder in service members is only associated with combat exposure. But a study* conducted by the Naval Health Research Center found that non-combat, deployment-related stressors play a very large role in contributing to cases of PTSD.
The study looked at nearly 1,600 Marines returning from deployments in combat zones, mostly in Iraq. According to the study:
- Both overall deployment-related stressors and overall combat exposure were strongly and significantly associated with possible PTSD. However,
- The variable in the study that had the strongest association for screening positive for PTSD was non-combat, deployment-related stressors. In fact, this category was more strongly associated with PTSD than was combat exposure.
Examples of non-combat, deployment-related stressors included excessive heat or cold, concerns or problems with family members back home, boredom, lack of privacy, problems with supervisors and inadequate availability of supplies or equipment.
The findings of this study are important because stress related to deployment has the potential to be modified.
* "Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Marines Back from War," Journal of Traumatic Stress, February 2010
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