Age at entry to UK military service and long-term mental health

Bergman, Beverly P; Mackay, DF; Fear, NT; Pell, JP

doi:10.1136/bmjmilitary-2021-001786

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…15 Junior entrants were defined as personnel who entered service under 17.5 years of age, in a predominantly educational role. 16 Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between veteran status and cumulative risk of suicide, using age as the time-dependent variable, age at death from suicide as the failure time, and age at death (from causes other than suicide) as the censor time. 17 Proportionality assumptions were tested using methodology based on Schoenfeld residuals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suicide among Scottish military veterans: follow-up and trends

2021

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ObjectivesThe risk of suicide among UK military veterans remains unclear. Few recent studies have been undertaken, and most studies found no clear evidence of increased risk. We used data from the Trends in Scottish Veterans Health cohort to investigate suicides up to 2017 in order to examine whether there have been any changes in the long-term pattern of veteran suicides since our earlier study to 2012, and to compare trends in the risk of suicide among veterans with matched non-veterans.MethodRetrospective cohort study of 78 000 veterans and 253 000 non-veterans born between 1945 and 1995, matched for age, sex and area of residence, using survival analysis to examine the risk of suicide in veterans in comparison with non-veterans overall and by subgroup, and to investigate associations with specific mental health conditions.ResultsUp to 37 years of follow-up, 388 (0.5%) veterans and 1531 (0.6%) non-veterans died from suicide. The risk of suicide among veterans did not differ from non-veterans overall. Increased risk among early service leavers was explained by differences in deprivation, and the previously reported increased risk in female veterans is now confined to older women. Suicide was most common in the fifth decade of life, and around 20 years postservice. A history of mood disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder was non-significantly more common in veterans.ConclusionsVeterans are not at increased risk of suicide overall. The highest risk for both men and women is in middle age, many years after leaving service.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A sensitivity analysis was performed, examining HRs at notional earlier end points, in order to assess trends. All analyses were performed using Stata V. 16.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide among Scottish military veterans: follow-up and trends

2021

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“…In the existing studies on Chinese military personnel, demographic variables, such as age, gender, education level, and military rank, are significantly correlated with mental health symptoms (e.g., anxiety, social anxiety disorder) (61)(62)(63). Moreover, in relevant studies conducted in western countries, sociodemographic characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, marital status, and enlistment age, can all affect the mental health of military personnel (64)(65)(66). As such, future research would benefit from focusing on specific personnel categories to develop more targeted guidance for psychological services.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of resilience on the mental health of military personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic: coping styles and regulatory focus

Cao

Wei

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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Military personnel encountered multiple stressful events during the COVID-19 lockdown. Reducing non-combat attrition due to mental disorders is crucial for military morale and combat effectiveness. Grounded in stress theory and regulatory focus theory, this study investigates the influence of resilience on military personnel’s mental health; coping style and regulatory focus are considered potential mediators and moderators, respectively. We conducted a routine psychological assessment on 1,110 military personnel in China. The results indicate that: (1) resilience has a negative impact on the psychological symptoms of military groups; (2) mature and mixed coping styles in military personnel mediate the association between resilience and psychological symptoms; and (3) regulatory focus predominance has a negative moderating effect on mature coping styles’ effects on psychological symptoms. Furthermore, this study supports previous findings that resilience and mental health are interrelated; it demonstrates that military personnel can effectively reduce negative psychological symptoms by improving their resilience level and adopting mature coping styles under stressful situations. The current study presents interventional insights regarding coping styles and mental health from a self-regulatory perspective during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Structural and Functional Social Support in UK Military Veterans During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations with Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Cross-sectional Study

Grover,

Sharp,

Jones

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic led to the implementation of social distancing laws in the UK. This had several negative consequences on health, wellbeing and social functioning within the general population. Military veterans may have had unique experiences of social isolation during this time. This study examined the level of, and relationship between, structural and functional social support, and its association with mental health and wellbeing in a sample of UK veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods Throughout the first summer of the pandemic (June-September 2020), an additional wave of cross-sectional data was collected from UK Armed Forces personnel who had left regular military service and were participating in a longitudinal cohort study. In total, 1562 participants (44.04% response rate) completed a series of online questionnaires measuring sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 experiences and psychosocial health and wellbeing. Multivariable logistic and ordinal regression analyses were conducted.Results For structural social support, 86.8% were in a relationship and 89.0% lived with others. For functional social support, one-quarter reported feelings of loneliness (27.4%) and low levels of perceived social support (28.1%). Structural support was associated with functional support. Being single, living alone and experiencing loneliness were associated with worse mental health and wellbeing, while living with other adults and reporting high levels of perceived social support were associated with better mental health and wellbeing.Conclusions UK veterans showed greater social support than the UK general population during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study has enhanced our understanding of social support among veterans and its implications for health and wellbeing. This knowledge is essential for advising the development of psychosocial interventions and policies to improve the psychological wellbeing of veterans in future pandemics and more broadly in their daily lives.

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Age at entry to UK military service and long-term mental health

Cited by 3 publications

References 20 publications

Suicide among Scottish military veterans: follow-up and trends

Suicide among Scottish military veterans: follow-up and trends

The impact of resilience on the mental health of military personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic: coping styles and regulatory focus

Structural and Functional Social Support in UK Military Veterans During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations with Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Cross-sectional Study

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