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Zou M, Liu B, Ji J, Ren L, Wang X, Li F. The Relationship Between Negative Coping Styles, Psychological Resilience, and Positive Coping Styles in Military Personnel: A Cross-Lagged Analysis. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2024; 17:13-21. [PMID: 38192275 PMCID: PMC10771775 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s447096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Military personnel experience prolonged exposure to high-stress environments. Positive coping styles can assist in maintaining their mental and behavioral well-being, whereas negative coping styles cannot. Health behavior change theory specifies that an individual can transition from a negative to a positive coping style. The psychological resilience concept may prove vital in this transition. Methods In a longitudinal study design, two questionnaires were administered to 233 military personnel twice, the first at T1 in April 2023 and the second at T2 in July 2023. The questionnaire measured individual negative coping style, positive coping style and psychological resilience. Results The data showed that the negative coping style at T1 negatively predicted the level of psychological resilience at T2 (γ= - 0.26, p < 0.001) and the positive coping style at T2 (γ= - 0.16, p < 0.001). The level of psychological resilience at T1 positively predicted the positive coping style at T2 (γ= 0.22, p < 0.01). Psychological resilience played a mediating role between negative coping style and positive coping style. In addition, there was an interaction between psychological resilience and positive coping style in military personnel at the two time points. Conclusion The negative coping styles that presently exist among military personnel have the potential to diminish their future positive coping styles by lowering their psychological resilience. This highlights the need to focus on the development and training of psychological resilience for military personnel, as it can effectively counteract negative coping styles and promote positive coping styles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxuan Zou
- Public Health School, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, 712046, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi’ an, 710032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Bin Liu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi’ an, 710032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Ji
- Public Health School, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, 712046, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lei Ren
- Military Psychology Section, Logistics University of PAP, Tianjin, 300309, People’s Republic of China
- Military Mental Health Services & Research Center, Tianjin, 300309, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiuchao Wang
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi’ an, 710032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fengzhan Li
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi’ an, 710032, People’s Republic of China
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Wiemer DF, Halfter M, Müseler U, Schawaller M, Frickmann H. Effects of COVID-19-Associated Infection Control on the Pattern of Infections Imported by German Soldiers and Police Officers Returning from Predominantly Tropical Deployment Sites. Infect Dis Rep 2023; 15:778-794. [PMID: 38131883 PMCID: PMC10743252 DOI: 10.3390/idr15060070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, German public health authorities launched various infection control procedures. In line with this, anti-pandemic infection control was also implemented for German military and police deployments. The presented study assessed the impact of this increased infection control effort on deployment-associated infections in a holistic approach. To do so, the results of post-deployment assessments offered to German soldiers and police officers at the Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases of the Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg obtained during the pandemic period were compared to the results recorded during the pre-pandemic period in an exploratory, hypothesis-forming comparative study. In total, data from 1010 military deployments and 134 police deployments, predominantly to the African or the Eastern Mediterranean WHO regions, were included in the analyses. In the main results, a significant decrease in gastroenteritis in deployed soldiers (20.1% versus 61.3%, p < 0.0001) and at least a trend in the same direction in deployed police officers (25.7% versus 35.4%, p = 0.4026) were shown for the pandemic period, while no consistent tendency into the one or the other direction was detectable for febrile illness on deployment. In contrast to the finding of less frequently reported deployment-associated gastroenteritis, the detection rates of enteric microorganisms after deployment, including poor hygiene-related colonization with apathogenic protozoa, remained unchanged. Regarding non-enteric infections, the numbers of serologically confirmed malaria cases on deployment and as expected, due to increased airway protection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific immune-conversion dropped significantly with p = 0.0037 and p = 0.009, respectively. As a side finding, soldiers and police officers with post-deployment medical assessments were more likely to be older and male during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. In summary, only minor changes in deployment-associated infection and colonization rates were seen in response to the increased infection control procedures during the pandemic period, apart from respiratory infections. In particular, the clinical finding of less gastroenteritis on deployment was not matched by a concordant decline in poor hygiene-related enteric colonization with apathogenic protozoa in the soldiers' guts, indicating that the fecal-oral transmission risk remained basically the same.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Franziska Wiemer
- Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Unit, Medical Department, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, 20359 Hamburg, Germany; (D.F.W.); (M.H.)
| | - Matthias Halfter
- Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Unit, Medical Department, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, 20359 Hamburg, Germany; (D.F.W.); (M.H.)
| | - Ulrich Müseler
- Medical Service, German Federal Police, 14473 Potsdam, Germany;
| | | | - Hagen Frickmann
- Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, 20359 Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany
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Fischer IC, Nichter B, Feldman DB, Na PJ, Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Schulenberg SE, Pietrzak RH. Purpose in life protects against the development of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in U.S. veterans without a history of suicidality: A 10-year, nationally representative, longitudinal study. J Affect Disord 2023; 340:551-554. [PMID: 37557988 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (STBs) in veterans without an endorsed history of STBs and identify baseline predictors of these outcomes over a 10-year period. METHODS Population-based prospective cohort study of 2307 US military veterans using five waves of the 2011-2021 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Baseline data were collected in 2011, with follow-up assessments conducted 2-(2013), 4-(2015), 7-(2018), and 10-years (2021) later. RESULTS In total, 10.1 % (N = 203) of veterans endorsed incident suicidal ideation (SI) over the 10-year period and 3.0 % (N = 55) endorsed an incident suicide attempt (SA). Multivariable regression analyses revealed the following baseline predictors of incident SI: lower annual household income, current posttraumatic stress disorder, current alcohol use disorder (AUD), disability with activities of daily living (i.e., ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (i.e., IADLs), lower perceived social support, lower community integration, and lower purpose in life. Current AUD, greater cumulative trauma burden, and lower purpose in life at baseline were predictive of incident SA. Relative importance analyses revealed that lower purpose in life was the strongest predictor of both incident SI and SA. CONCLUSIONS Psychosocial determinants of health, such as purpose in life, may be more reliable predictors of incident suicidal thoughts and behaviors than traditional risk factors (e.g., psychiatric distress; history of SA) in those without a history of STBs. Evidence-based interventions that facilitate purpose in life and feelings of connectedness and belonging should be examined as possible treatments for STBs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian C Fischer
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Brandon Nichter
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - David B Feldman
- Department of Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, USA
| | - Peter J Na
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jack Tsai
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; National Center on Homelessness among Veterans, Homeless Programs Office, Tampa, FL, USA; School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Ilan Harpaz-Rotem
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Stefan E Schulenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA; Clinical-Disaster Research Center, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
| | - Robert H Pietrzak
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
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Cations M, Cook JM, Fischer I, Pietrzak RH. Exacerbated PTSD symptoms among older U.S. military veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the national health and resilience in veterans study. J Psychiatr Res 2023; 163:386-390. [PMID: 37269773 PMCID: PMC10227439 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.05.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Research has demonstrated that the impact of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health of United States (U.S.) veterans was less negative than originally anticipated. However, U.S. veterans are susceptible to exacerbation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology in late life. The aims of this study were to examine the extent to which older U.S. veterans experienced an exacerbation of PTSD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify pre- and peri-pandemic factors that conferred risk for symptom exacerbation. Participants were U.S. military veterans aged 60 and older who completed three waves of the 2019-2022 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS) (n=1858). PTSD symptoms were measured at all waves using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and a latent growth mixture model was conducted to compute latent slopes of change of PTSD symptoms over the 3-year period. 159 (8.3%) participants experienced a worsening of PTSD symptomology over the pandemic period. Factors related to PTSD exacerbation were incident trauma exposure between Waves 1 and 2, more medical conditions with onset prior to the pandemic, and peri-pandemic social restriction stress. Number of incident traumas moderated the relationship between both number of pre-pandemic medical conditions and pre-pandemic social connectedness, and exacerbated PTSD symptoms. These results suggest that the pandemic did not confer additional risk for PTSD exacerbation than would be expected over a 3-year period for older veterans. Those who experience incident trauma exposure should be monitored for symptom exacerbation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Cations
- College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
| | - Joan M Cook
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ian Fischer
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Robert H Pietrzak
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
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