An epidemiological assessment of reintegration and behavioral health risk at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Washington.

Soldiers from a brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, were alleged to have committed numerous crimes, including murder of civilians, during a recent deployment. This study was done to assist the command with (1) analyzing the climate and challenges facing redeploying Soldiers; (2) assessing behavioral risk at both individual and unit levels through targeted reintegration screening; and (3) recommending mitigating strategies to enhance current reintegration processes and reduce the level of high-risk behavior among Soldiers following deployment. The findings from this public health investigation suggest levels of risk and major areas of concern during the redeployment period varied across battalions within the brigade and that risk stratification postdeployment was not correlated with discernible differences in predeployment indicators. Acts of violence were limited to the deployment and immediate postdeployment periods and were allegedly perpetrated by a very small number of Soldiers.

Intimate partner violence among U.S. Army soldiers in Alaska: a comparison of reported rates and survey results.

OBJECTIVES: A U.S. Army post in Alaska (Fort A) was determined to have a higher than average rate of officially reported cases of spousal abuse compared with the Army as a whole. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether Fort A had a higher rate of self-reported spousal abuse compared with the Army as a whole. METHOD: A survey on intimate partner violence was conducted among 648 married male personnel who completed a questionnaire that included the Modified Conflict Tactic Scale. RESULTS: Comparisons with results of an earlier study involving a large representative sample of Army personnel indicated that Fort A did not have higher levels of intimate partner violence than the Army average based on soldiers' self-reports. CONCLUSION: It may not be appropriate to draw conclusions about serious intimate partner violence in the military based solely on the results of family conflict surveys.

Exposure, threat appraisal, and lost confidence as predictors of PTSD symptoms following September 11, 2001.

Six months after September 11, 2001 (9/11), 124 New York City workers participated in a self-report study of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although direct exposure to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 was limited, estimates of the prevalence of current PTSD in this mostly ethnic minority population ranged from 7.8% to 21.2%, as measured by the PTSD Checklist (F. W. Weathers, B. T. Litz, D. S. Herman, J. A. Huska, & T. M. Keane, 1993). Consistent with the study hypotheses, direct exposure to the attacks of 9/11, worries about future terrorist attacks (threat appraisal), and reduced confidence in self after 9/11 each predicted symptoms of PTSD, even after controlling for symptoms of anxiety and depression. These results support the idea that a traumatic event's meaning is associated with PTSD symptoms. Gender was not a significant predictor of symptoms, once other demographic variables were controlled. Most respondents who met the criteria for current PTSD had not sought therapy or counseling.