Tai Chi and Qigong for trauma exposed populations: A systematic review.

Background: Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress are highly prevalent and comorbid with health problems. Despite the apparent systemic nature of post-traumatic stress, recommended treatments neglect trauma's deleterious effects on health. Integrative mind-body treatments for posttraumatic stress, such as Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ), may offer a promising adjunct to first-line treatments. Method: A systematic search was conducted to identify trials that examined Tai Chi and/or Qigong as treatments for trauma-exposed populations. Studies were examined for rigor; design, sample and intervention characteristics, dropout, attendance, satisfaction, acceptability, and key findings were systematically extracted. Results: The 6 studies included are all pilot or feasibility trials with descriptive or mixed-methods outcomes. No randomized trials or rigorous studies were identified. Dropout rates ranged widely, and adverse reactions were not evident. Reported satisfaction was high and benefits of relaxation, reductions in mental health symptoms, and improvements in pain and physical and cognitive functioning were noted. Limitations: All the studies were non-rigorous and relatively small, with no comparison groups, or follow-up assessments; in many cases, posttraumatic stress symptoms were not formally assessed. Conclusions: The paucity and lack of rigor of the studies identified for this review highlights the need for larger, methodologically sound clinical trials. The reviewed studies suggest that TCQ practices have the potential to reduce symptoms and improve functioning for individuals exposed to trauma and provide evidence that TCQ is feasible, acceptable, and low risk in these populations. Possible mechanistic pathways supporting TCQ as a treatment for posttraumatic stress are considered.

Mental health literacy in veterans: What do U.S. military veterans know about PTSD and its treatment?

Given military veterans' underutilization of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, it is important to explore factors that may facilitate or stand in the way of treatment seeking for this population. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial examination of military veterans' mental health literacy as it relates to PTSD and its treatment. One-hundred and 32 post-9/11 veterans were recruited for this web-based study. A vignette-based approach was employed to examine veterans' mental health literacy and relationships between mental health literacy and dimensions of stigma. Consistent with hypotheses, results revealed relatively higher levels of PTSD problem recognition, and lower levels of knowledge about evidence-based treatments and self-help strategies within this veteran sample. Correlational results provided partial support for our hypotheses: Mental health literacy was inversely associated with negative beliefs about mental health problems and treatments, but not significantly related to other dimensions of stigma. This study highlights potential targets for mental health literacy interventions and points to the value of additional research on the role of mental health literacy in veterans' treatment seeking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

An Examination of the Roles of Mental Health Literacy, Treatment-Seeking Stigma, and Perceived Need for Care in Female Veterans' Service Use.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the role of mental health literacy in military veterans' treatment-seeking stigma and service use, or the impact of these factors on perceived need for mental health care. In addition, most research has focused on mixed-gender samples. This study examined the relationships among mental health literacy, treatment seeking stigma, perceived need for mental health care, and service use in a national, longitudinal study of female veterans. METHODS: A sample of 171 female veterans were drawn from a larger three-wave prospective national survey conducted between 2014 and 2017. RESULTS: Path analyses revealed that treatment seeking stigma had a direct negative effect on service use and an indirect effect that was mediated by perceived need for care, such that higher treatment seeking stigma was associated with lower perceived need for mental health care. Mental health literacy had an indirect effect on service use via its inverse association with treatment-seeking stigma. In contrast, mental health literacy was not associated with perceived need. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health literacy, treatment-seeking stigma, and perceived need for care affect female veterans' service use in unique ways. Further longitudinal research is needed to better understand these pathways in diverse samples.

Predictors of well-being in the lives of student service members and veterans.

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined predictors of well-being, including quality of life and academic engagement, in a sample of student service members and veteran college students. METHODS: Eighty-seven student service members/veterans (SSM/V) completed an online survey containing questions about post-deployment social support, emotion regulation skills, psychological distress, academic engagement, quality of life, and demographics. Participants were recruited from September 2012 through May 2014. RESULTS: Results provided partial support for the proposed bi-directional mediational relations between post-deployment social support and emotion regulation predicting to quality of life and academic engagement. Path models indicated that both post-deployment social support and emotion regulation skills partially mediated the relation with quality of life while accounting for the effect of psychological distress, and that emotion regulation skills fully mediated the relation between social support and academic engagement. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that both social support and emotion regulation skills may be useful targets for health promotion and intervention efforts for this population. Limitations and clinical implications for the development of on-campus SSM/V focused health promotion services are discussed.