Is Peacekeeper’s Stress Syndrome Real? A Cross-Sectional Study of Soldiers at Un Mission

Abstract

Objective: To study the Peacekeeping Stress syndrome and see its relationship with various demographic variables (age, years of service and marital status).
 Study Design: Cross sectional study.
 Place and Duration of Study: Study was carried out on Pakistani Peacekeepers who were deployed in Democratic Republic of Congo in Jun 2019.
 Methodology: About 536 Pakistani male peacekeepers with mean age of 33 years, deployed in Democratic Republic of Congo were taken as study sample. By group testing method, all participants were assessed through Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Urdu version and demographic form consisted of age, marital status, education, years of service and rank.
 Results: Results revealed that DASS-21 has good reliability (α=0.71) for the present sample and prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among Pakistani peacekeepers was low (2.9%, 4% and 4% respectively). Further to it, there was significant negative correlation of depression and stress with the age and years of service whereas relationship of anxiety with these variables (age and years of service) was non-significant. There were significant mean differences between the married and unmarried peacekeepers on Anxiety and Stress and non-significant on depression.
 Conclusion: Present study provided useful information regarding the mental health of peacekeepers and highlighted the fact that Pakistani peacekeepers are resilient enough to handle the challenges of international environment.

UN peacekeeper health and risk factors --- a systematic scoping review

“…Totally 47 articles reported mental health problems, including PTSD [ 13 – 15 , 17 – 24 , 26 – 37 ], stress [ 38 – 45 ], anxiety and depression [ 35 , 39 , 46 – 60 , 62 , 63 ], and psychiatric disorders [ 13 , 33 , 46 ]. PTSD: Two studies reported the high prevalence of PTSD and symptoms among UN peacekeepers [ 13 , 14 ], ranging from about 5to 20% in a short time after service.…”

“…One study explored the relationship between the meaningfulness of work, personality hardiness, and their deriving benefits from stressful experiences among U.S. peacekeepers in Bosnia [ 42 ]. One study explored stress among Pakistani peacekeepers (4%) and highlighted the fact that they were resilient enough to handle the challenges of international environment [ 45 ]. Another study also explored the incident stress and suggested effective occupational health programs among U.S. peacekeepers [ 41 ].…”

“…This scoping review found the current research on the health status of UN peacekeepers mainly covered mental health, infectious diseases and a diversity of other diseases. Most peacekeepers suffered from PTSD after deployment [ 21 , 26 ], experienced stress during deployment [ 41 , 45 ], reported anxiety and depression after mental health scale tests [ 52 , 61 ], and a few serious cases experienced psychiatric illness and suicidal ideation [ 13 , 33 ]. The majority of articles covered the general mental health status from multination in peacekeeping, with U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and China reporting more than other countries on mental health problems among peacekeepers.…”

“… South-East Asia Region: India, Multination Multination, Kosovo Cross-sectional study, Retrospective study, Questionnaire, Sample study, Interview No cases of PTSD, Veterans who screened positive for PTSD scored higher, PTSD symptoms’ impact upon chronic pain experiences, PTSD predicted by level of anxiety and depression, PTSD symptom models and factor structure, Combat related PTSD, PTSD symptom and trauma history. Stress Ballone et al 2000 [ 38 ], Wessely et al 2006 [ 39 ], Nikolova et al 2007 [ 40 ], Adler et al 2008 [ 41 ], Britt et al 2011 [ 42 ], Barnes et al 2013 [ 43 ], Souza et al 2015 [ 44 ], Mustafa et al 2021 [ 45 ] Region of the Americas: U.S. Multination, Kosovo Questionnaire Stressful experience, Routine exposures cause high levels of stress, Incident stress debriefing. European Region: Italy, Bulgaria, U.K. Bosnia, Kosovo Cross-sectional study, Longitudinal study, Questionnaire High stress level during deployment, Determination and characteristics of stress, Perceived stress from professional difficulties and frustrations.…”