Impact of Critical Events During Deployments on the Mental Health of Military Personnel

Introduction Deployments abroad pose an occupational risk for mental disorders and reduced quality of life among military personnel. This study examines the question of whether a relevant predictor for the frequency of mental disorders after deployments abroad can be found. It is postulated that soldiers who experience a military-specific critical event develop more symptoms and their quality of life decreases. Methods This study included n=370 combat troops deployed to Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation. Using questionnaires, data on psychological symptoms and quality of life were collected before and after deployment. The discriminator was whether a critical military-specific event, defined as a type A criterion of PTSD according to ICD-10 (F43.1), was experienced during the deployment. Results It was shown that soldiers who experienced a critical event (n=81; 21.9%) developed significantly more depressive, somatic and stress symptoms. When evaluating the questionnaires on the quality of life, significant deteriorations were found in all areas, apart from environmental quality of life. In the study group without a critical event, there were significant improvements in stress experience and environmental quality of life after deployment. When the entire group was included, a time x group interaction effect was found with deterioration in soldiers with critical events in all of the above-mentioned areas, apart from the environmental quality of life. Conclusion In summary, it can be postulated that critical events during a deployment abroad have a significant impact on the mental health and quality of life of soldiers. This can be used for more specific pre- and post-operation measures as well as for de-stigmatization programs.