Unit Cohesion – A Protective Factor For Military Mental Health? Direct and Mediated Associations

  • Objectives: In this study, we investigate if social risk and resilience factors and coping strategies allow to distinguish between military service members suffering from deployment-related PTSD, deployed soldiers with no mental health condition, and non-deployed soldiers with high or low chronic stress. In addition, we wanted to know if perceived unit cohesion directly affects mental health (PDS, BSI) or is mediated by coping strategies. Method: In a cross-sectional study of 135 male soldiers, these were grouped into four categories: deployed soldiers diagnosed with or without deployment-related PTSD, non-deployed soldiers experiencing high or low chronic stress. Measures included adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies (SVF-78), social acknowledgment, isolation and unit cohesion. Results: Military service members with deployment-related PTSD and non-deployed military personnel experiencing high chronic stress report significantly less social resources and significantly more maladaptive copingObjectives: In this study, we investigate if social risk and resilience factors and coping strategies allow to distinguish between military service members suffering from deployment-related PTSD, deployed soldiers with no mental health condition, and non-deployed soldiers with high or low chronic stress. In addition, we wanted to know if perceived unit cohesion directly affects mental health (PDS, BSI) or is mediated by coping strategies. Method: In a cross-sectional study of 135 male soldiers, these were grouped into four categories: deployed soldiers diagnosed with or without deployment-related PTSD, non-deployed soldiers experiencing high or low chronic stress. Measures included adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies (SVF-78), social acknowledgment, isolation and unit cohesion. Results: Military service members with deployment-related PTSD and non-deployed military personnel experiencing high chronic stress report significantly less social resources and significantly more maladaptive coping strategies than deployed and non-deployed military personnel with lower stress levels, but show no differences in their reported adaptive coping strategies. No significant differences were found between soldiers suffering from PTSD and high chronic stress. Effects of lacking unit cohesion on mental health symptomatology was almost completely mediated by maladaptive coping strategies. Conclusions: Neither social risk and resilience factors nor coping strategies allow to distinguish a specific combat-related PTSD pattern. Instead, they rather distinguish between resilient soldiers and those at risk, regardless of caused by high duty-related chronic stress or traumatic combat-related events. Prospective studies are needed to assess if the lack of maladaptive coping strategies can be addressed directly or indirectly by facilitating unit cohesion and social integration.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Antje Bühler, Peter Zimmermann, Ulrich Wesemann, Gerd Willmund
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:1073-opus-1881
DOI:https://doi.org/10.48701/opus4-188
Parent Title (English):Wehrmedizinische Monatsschrift
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2023
Publishing Institution:Fachinformationszentrum der Bundeswehr
Release Date:2023/09/05
Tag:coping; mental health; military deployment; social isolation; social recognition; unit cohesion
Volume:2023
Issue:67/09
Page Number:7
First Page:e1-1
Last Page:e1-7
organizational unit:Inspekteur des Sanitätsdienstes der Bundeswehr
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
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