Predisposing factors leading to depression in the British Army

Abstract

Few studies have explored the predisposing factors leading to depression within the British Army, and this qualitative investigation provides a novel approach to advance knowledge in this poorly researched area. Information was provided by army mental health (MH) clinicians, with results aligned to theoretical groupings under the headings of: occupational stressors; macho culture, stigma and bullying; unhappy young soldier; relationships and gender. These issues were influenced by peacetime and operational settings; the support offered by the Army Medical Services and unit command. The results indicate that Army personnel are exposed to multi-factorial stressors that are incremental/accumulative in nature. Soldiers can cope with extreme pressures, often in hostile environments, but often cannot cope with a failing relationship. Officers were worried about the occupational implications of reporting ill, and the negative impact on their career, and might seek support from private civilian agencies, which have potentially dangerous ramifications as they may still deploy. GPs refer female soldiers more frequently for a mental health assessment because women express their emotions more openly then men. Young disillusioned soldiers who want to leave the Army form the main group of personnel accessing mental health support, although often they are not clinically depressed.

Mapping the field of military nursing research 1990–2013: A bibliometric review

“…In keeping with the concept of knowledge transfer, these factors indicate the increasing potential to translate knowledge gained from nursing research to other health professions. Examples include helicopter evacuation services patient outcome and projects based in mental health (Brewer and Ryan-Wenger, 2009;Ebbs and Timmons, 2008;Finnegan and Finnegan, 2007;Finnegan et al, 2013;Gibbons et al, 2011;Kee et al, 2005;Lairet et al, 2013). This shift also acknowledges the collaborative nature of military healthcare and as a marker of bibliometric profile it signals that the field of military nursing is open to transfer to other disciplines (Estabrooks et al, 2004).…”

The Role of Job Burnout and Depression in Self-Destructive Behavior of Islamic Republic of Iran's Army Personnel

“…Although no study has been performed on the indirect role of job variables in depressioninduced self-harming behaviour, the study by Finnegan et al [27] indicated that various factors (such as job factors) led to an increase in depression among members of the British Army. Since other studies revealed that depression leads to an increase in the tendency for self-harming behaviour and suicide [7,10,22,36,37,39,43], it can be concluded that depression has a mediating role in the development of tendency for suicide among militants, which is partly caused by job-related factors.…”

“…Job-related factors may directly influence such behaviour, and may also indirectly increase the tendency to self-harm behaviour by worsening depression. Some studies suggest that job-related factors contribute to depression, for instance Finnegan et al [27] showed that job problems are antecedents of depression among UK army personnel. Pflanz & Ogle [26] and Hagan & Kay [28] indicated that job-related factors (such as job satisfaction) are associated with depression among military personnel.…”

Danger zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health and safety in high risk occupations

“…Similarly, in a study examining men's accounts of masculinity and its relationship to help-seeking behaviour, O'Brien et al reveal that men are less likely to attend to serious health and body symptoms and more likely to believe that it is necessary to endure high degrees of pain and conceal mental health issues (O'Brien et al, 2005). Men's reluctance to discuss mental health issues has been reported across male-dominated occupations such as farming (Harrell, 1986;Fraser et al, 2005;Alston and Kent, 2008), the military (Finnegan et al, 2010), protective services (Cheek and Miller, 1983) and mining (Campbell, 1997).…”