JRSM > Volume 101, Number 2 > Pp. 78-84

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Getting a peace of the action: measures of post traumatic stress in UK military peacekeepers

Neil Greenberg Amy Iversen Lisa Hull Duncan Bland   Simon Wessely

Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health (ACDMH), King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK

Correspondence to: Dr Neil Greenberg. E-mail: sososanta{at}aol.com

Objectives This study aimed to measure prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of UK Armed Forces peacekeepers. The study also aimed to explore the influence of deploying without an established peer group (deployment status) upon health outcomes using an accepted diagnostic tool for PTSD (PCL-M) and an alternative measure of post-traumatic distress.

Design Using a sub-sample of the King's military cohort we surveyed personnel that deployed on peacekeeping operations between 1991 and 2000 (n=1198).

Setting Respondents' mean age was 36 years (min, 23 to max, 60) and 81% (n=964) were serving in the Armed Forces at the time of participation.

Main outcome measures PTSD prevalence was determined in British military peacekeepers using the PLC-M (cut-offs 44 and 50), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and a composite brief measure of potential post traumatic symptomology, ‘PostTraumatic Stress Reaction’ (PTSR) for comparison.

Results PTSD prevalence varied from 3.6 to 5.5%. Officers and married personnel were less likely to be cases. Neither gender, age or deployment status influenced PTSD prevalence.

Conclusions PTSD was an uncommon disorder in this sample of British military peacekeepers, with prevalence rates being lower than those reported by other nations. Deploying without an established peer group was not associated with developing PTSD. We postulate that differences in culture and operational practices may account for the lower rates of PTSD.

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