Regular Article/Psychological Consequences of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Early mental health treatment-seeking among U.S. National Guard soldiers deployed to Iraq†

  1. Shannon M. Kehle1,*,
  2. Melissa A. Polusny2,
  3. Maureen Murdoch3,
  4. Christopher R. Erbes4,
  5. Paul A. Arbisi5,
  6. Paul Thuras6,
  7. Laura A. Meis7

Article first published online: 26 JAN 2010

DOI: 10.1002/jts.20480

Issue

Journal of Traumatic Stress

Journal of Traumatic Stress

Special Issue: Psychological Consequences of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Volume 23, Issue 1, pages 33–40, February 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Kehle, S. M., Polusny, M. A., Murdoch, M., Erbes, C. R., Arbisi, P. A., Thuras, P. and Meis, L. A. (2010), Early mental health treatment-seeking among U.S. National Guard soldiers deployed to Iraq. J. Traum. Stress, 23: 33–40. doi: 10.1002/jts.20480

Author Information

  1. 1

    Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN

  2. 2

    Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN

  3. 3

    Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN

  4. 4

    Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN

  5. 5

    Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, and Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

  6. 6

    Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN

  7. 7

    Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN

*Minneapolis VA Medical Center, One Veterans Drive (152/2E), Minneapolis, MN 55417

  1. †

    This research was supported by grants from the Minnesota Medical Foundation (Grant #3662-9227-06) and Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (W81XWH-07-2-0033). The authors thank MAJ Cora Courage, PhD and COL Michael Rath, MD, for assistance with subject recruitment. Kenna Bolton-Holz, Robyn Campbell, Molly Charlesworth, Olivia Darrah, Courtney Duffy, Ashley Gulden, Nicole Hofman, Katie Koenig, Kari Leiting, Shannon Martin, Lynsey Miron, Amy Moran, Madhavi Reddy, Kailey Roberts, and Alicia Sandberg assisted with data collection.The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 18 FEB 2010
  2. Article first published online: 26 JAN 2010

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Abstract

The authors examined rates of and factors associated with postdeployment treatment-seeking in a panel of 424 National Guard soldiers who spent 16 months in Iraq. Soldiers completed a self-report, mailed survey 3- to 6-months after returning home. Approximately one third of respondents reported postdeployment mental health treatment. Those who screened positive for mental health problems were more likely to indicate that they had received treatment compared to those who screened negative, but over one half of those who screened positive were not engaged with mental health treatment. Variables related to reported treatment receipt included positive attitudes about mental health therapies, having been injured in-theater, illness-based need, and having received mental health treatment while in-theater. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

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