Abstract
BackgroundThis study focuses on factors that may disproportionately affect female veterans’ mental health, compared to men, and is part of a larger study assessing the prevalence of mental health disorders and treatment seeking among formerly deployed US military service members.MethodsWe surveyed a random sample of 1,730 veterans who were patients in a large non-VA hospital system in the US. Based on previous research, women were hypothesized to be at higher risk for psychological problems. We adjusted our results for confounding factors, including history of trauma, childhood abuse, combat exposure, deployments, stressful life events, alcohol misuse, psychological resources, and social support.ResultsAmong the veterans studied, 5% were female (n = 85), 96% were White (n = 1,161), 22.9% were Iraq/Afghanistan veterans (n = 398), and the mean age was 59 years old (SD = 12). Compared to males, female veterans were younger, unmarried, college graduates, had less combat exposure, but were more likely to have lifetime PTSD (29% vs. 12%.), depression (46% vs. 21%), suicidal ideation (27% vs. 11%), and lifetime mental health service use (67% vs. 47%). Females were also more likely to have low psychological resilience and to have used psychotropic medications in the past year. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses that controlled for risk and protective factors, female veterans had greater risk for lifetime PTSD, depression, suicidal thoughts, and for lifetime use of psychological services, compared to males. Since 95% of the population in this study were male and these results may have been statistically biased, we reran our analyses using propensity score matching. Results were consistent across these analyses.ConclusionUsing a sample of post-deployment veterans receiving healthcare services from a large non-VA health system, we find that female veterans are at greater risk for lifetime psychological problems, compared to male veterans. We discuss these findings and their implications for service providers.
Highlights
This study focuses on factors that may disproportionately affect female veterans’ mental health, compared to men, and is part of a larger study assessing the prevalence of mental health disorders and treatment seeking among formerly deployed United States (US) military service members
Dependent variables The current study focused on four main outcome variables: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicidal ideation, and use of mental health services
Given the increasing concern among the Department of Veterans Affairs and health policy planners about the rise in suicide rates among veterans [7], our findings strongly argue for more research on unmet needs among female veterans using non-VA facility data to ensure that this population does not suffer from the lack of appropriate care
Summary
This study focuses on factors that may disproportionately affect female veterans’ mental health, compared to men, and is part of a larger study assessing the prevalence of mental health disorders and treatment seeking among formerly deployed US military service members. Women are one the fastest growing demographic groups in the military, and the proportion of female military service members and veterans is at its highest level ever in the United States (US) and other industrialized countries [1, 2]. By 2042, women will comprise over 16% of the total US veteran population [1]. These trends are even more pronounced in other advanced industrial countries [3, 4]. The goal of this study is to assess both military deployment factors and post-deployment experiences that may contribute to lifetime psychological disorders, especially posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female veterans, relative to their male counterparts, to optimize future training and treatment planning
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