Stress and mental health status associated with peacekeeping duty for New Zealand defence force personnel

Abstract

This article presents findings from a longitudinal study investigating the psychological impact of peacekeeping duties on 277 New Zealand Defence Force personnel. Mental health and stressor experience data are presented for four stages of deployment from prior to the deployment to approximately 6 months after service personnel returned to New Zealand. The findings of this study support previous research which shows that while the incidence of reported psychiatric disorders is very low among peacekeeping personnel, peacekeeping duty does impact upon the mental health status of the personnel involved. For the peacekeepers in this study the most stressful periods appeared to be the preparation and follow-up stages of the deployment. The personnel reported higher anxiety, psychological distress and deployment-related hassles prior to departure, and higher anxiety, psychological distress and lower positive psychological well-being several months after their return to New Zealand. The results also showed that the most important predictor of the overall mental health status of these personnel, across all four stages, was level of current stress.