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Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps Nov 2018
Topics: Evidence-Based Medicine; History, 20th Century; Military Personnel; United Kingdom
PubMed: 29705736
DOI: 10.1136/jramc-2018-000917 -
Military Medicine Jul 2023
Topics: Humans; Military Medicine; Military Personnel
PubMed: 37207366
DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usad135 -
Occupational Medicine (Oxford, England) Dec 2018Military service can be a traumatic experience and cause mental health problems in a minority of personnel, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Military service can be a traumatic experience and cause mental health problems in a minority of personnel, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is linked to negative long-term outcomes. As a result, PTSD has received significant research attention. However, post-traumatic growth (PTG) is a newer construct, with comparatively little known about its presentation and development.
AIMS
To qualitatively examine the experience of (PTG) in military and ex-military personnel.
METHODS
A qualitative systematic search of electronic databases was conducted, with studies assessed for methodological quality and data analysed using thematic analysis. Nine qualitative studies, carried out between 2011 and 2016, met the inclusion criteria with 195 participants in total, including both military and ex-military personnel.
RESULTS
Six themes were identified: appreciation for life, re-evaluating sense of purpose, improvement of personal human traits, bonding and connecting with others, integrating into society, and being proud of heritage and feeling valuable to society.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this review illustrate that military personnel may experience PTG due to deployment-related trauma exposure, and the presentation of PTG in this population is not dissimilar to that of civilians. This study highlights the need for additional research to quantify the long-term psychological impact of PTG and whether a focus on PTG may be helpful in psychological treatment for (ex-) military personnel.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Combat Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Middle Aged; Military Personnel; Posttraumatic Growth, Psychological; Qualitative Research; Veterans
PubMed: 30590773
DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqy140 -
Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps Apr 2019Military psychology is a specialist discipline within applied psychology. It entails the application of psychological science to military operations, systems and...
Military psychology is a specialist discipline within applied psychology. It entails the application of psychological science to military operations, systems and personnel. The specialty was formally founded during World War I in the UK and the USA, and it was integral to many early concepts and interventions for psychological and neuropsychological trauma. It also established a fundamental basis for the psychological assessment and selection of military personnel. During and after World War II, military psychology continued to make significant contributions to aviation psychology, cognitive testing, rehabilitation psychology and many models of psychotherapy. Military psychology now consists of several subspecialties, including clinical, research and occupational psychology, with the latter often referred to in the USA as industrial/organisational psychology. This article will provide an overview of the origins, history and current composition of military psychology in the UK, with select international illustrations also being offered.
Topics: History, 20th Century; Humans; Military Medicine; Military Personnel; Military Psychiatry; Psychology, Military; World War I; World War II
PubMed: 30415213
DOI: 10.1136/jramc-2018-001048 -
Journal of Mental Health (Abingdon,... Feb 2023Some cognitive biases, such as excessive attention to threat, are associated with PTSD. However, they may be adaptive for military personnel; attending to threat may...
BACKGROUND
Some cognitive biases, such as excessive attention to threat, are associated with PTSD. However, they may be adaptive for military personnel; attending to threat may improve safety for deployed personnel.
AIMS
The extent to which military personnel with vs. without PTSD differ with respect to specific cognitive biases is currently unclear. This systematic review aimed to address this question.
METHODS
PRISMA guidelines were followed. Articles were identified using a comprehensive literature search; 21 studies (with 1977 participants) were reviewed.
RESULTS
All studies were of "moderate" or "strong" quality. Military personnel with vs. without PTSD used overgeneralised language when describing autobiographical memories and demonstrated impaired performance on a modified Stroop task. Studies using dot-probe paradigms conceptualised attentional response as a dynamic process, fluctuating between bias towards and away from threat; military personnel with vs. without PTSD demonstrated greater fluctuation. Studies using visual search tasks concluded that attentional bias in PTSD involves interference (difficulty disengaging from threat) rather than facilitation (enhanced threat detection). Finally, personnel with vs. without PTSD demonstrated interpretation bias, completing ambiguous sentences with negative rather than neutral endings.
CONCLUSION
The implications for military populations and recommendations for further research and clinical practice are considered.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION
PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018092235.
Topics: Humans; Military Personnel; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Bias; Cognition
PubMed: 32437214
DOI: 10.1080/09638237.2020.1766000 -
Work (Reading, Mass.) 2015
Topics: Humans; Military Personnel; Rehabilitation; Warfare
PubMed: 25515173
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-141985 -
Stress and Health : Journal of the... Sep 2023Military personnel experience training and operational demands that are different from civilian populations, including frequent deployment, exposure to austere... (Review)
Review
Military personnel experience training and operational demands that are different from civilian populations, including frequent deployment, exposure to austere environments, and dislocation from family. These unique occupational demands may result in negative impacts on health, performance, and career success. As such, resilience, defined as a system's capacity to resist, recover, recover better, or adapt, to perturbation from a challenge or stressor, is a critical factor in assuring the health and safety of military personnel. In recent years, the Department of Defense (DoD) has funded research programs assessing the physiological basis of resilience. This review will overview research programs, review salient findings from recent studies, and highlight potential future areas of research. Physiological factors influencing or predicting resilience in US military populations, including physical performance, anthropometrics and body composition, nutrition and dietary supplements, and other biomarkers will be highlighted. Finally, this manuscript will detail potential future studies, including interventions, aimed at optimising physiological resilience in military personnel.
Topics: Humans; Military Personnel; Resilience, Psychological
PubMed: 37395310
DOI: 10.1002/smi.3271 -
The Psychiatric Clinics of North America Dec 2016Understanding the occurrence and nature of violence in the military entails appreciating military culture, the sociology and demographics of its personnel, military... (Review)
Review
Understanding the occurrence and nature of violence in the military entails appreciating military culture, the sociology and demographics of its personnel, military training, combat experiences, and injuries and illnesses that veterans suffer. The military is grounded in the principles and practice of conducting violent operations, and the psychology of violence fundamentally anchors its professionalism. The occurrence of unwanted violence and tragic incidence of suicides, homicides, and abuse expose the challenges to containing the behavior outside of the combat and training theaters.
Topics: Homicide; Humans; Military Personnel; Suicide; Violence
PubMed: 27836156
DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2016.07.008 -
Military Psychology : the Official... 2023Criterion identification and measurement is often an afterthought in criterion-related validation research. Yet it is essential in determining what predictor measures to...
Criterion identification and measurement is often an afterthought in criterion-related validation research. Yet it is essential in determining what predictor measures to use in operational settings. Accordingly, this special issue discusses recent advances in addressing the "criterion problem" in U.S. military enlisted personnel selection and classification research. In this introductory paper, broad issues regarding criterion identification and measurement in the military and previous research on this topic are reviewed and subsequent papers, which address specific criterion issues and describe an unprecedented joint-service criterion project, are introduced.
Topics: Humans; Military Personnel; Personnel Selection
PubMed: 37352445
DOI: 10.1080/08995605.2022.2050158 -
Journal For Nurses in Professional... 2017
Topics: Career Mobility; Education Department, Hospital; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Military Personnel; Staff Development
PubMed: 28891886
DOI: 10.1097/NND.0000000000000380