BACKGROUND: Inconsistent findings between studies of gender differences in mental health outcomes in military samples have left open questions of differential prevalence in posttraumatic stress disord

The gap

Consensus across the literature

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• A Comparative Study of Veterans' Sexual Trauma Experiences Over Time (2024) · doi

  Veterans from these two studies have given insightful suggestions on how to improve their care. A lot of the subjects mentioned therapy and counseling was and is needed for continued improvement in their recovery. However, Veterans often have to face multiple barriers to obtain mental healthcare services at the VA, so improvement is needed in order to make counseling and therapy more accessible [27-29]. Subjects from both studies mentioned that military culture makes the reporting of MST difficult. Previous studies have shown how military culture is an important aspect in the relationship between patients and mental healthcare providers and plays a role in Veterans’ reluctance to seek treatment for mental illness or distress [30,31]. Reducing the stigma for mental health treatment among military culture is an important area to tackle in order to increase satisfaction in mental health treatment [32]. Also, subjects in these studies mentioned that underage drinking was one cause for assault and many chose to not report their assault because of the fear of being reprimanded for underaged drinking. If military culture adapts more of a concern for the health and mental wellbeing of military personnel, victims may be more motivated to report their MST. Further education or initiatives to address this problem would validate the victims and help start their recovery process. Because of the changes we found in the perpetrators of the MST, it would also be helpful to implement more trainings and education about MST to all active military members, and not only those in supervisor roles. Since our studies were exploratory in nature, more questions have been raised that will need to be addressed in future research studies. The characteristics of the assault, such as severity or frequency, were not covered in depth by our questionnaire, though this information would be valuable in our understanding of recovery from MST as assault characteristics are shown to impact outcomes such as the development of PTSD [33,34]. From speaking with the subjects, we did observe that subjects in Study 1 seemed to mention experiencing more violent attacks such as gang rapes. It would be worth collecting more information about this to see if this has affected recovery over time. Also, additional information on what VA resources the Veterans in the studies utilized to support their recovery would help us identify the strengths and weaknesses of our current system. Finally, as action and policy change regarding MST are continuously evolving, there is a need for further investigation of future changes.

  Keywords: mental military subjects recovery veterans culture assault mentioned treatment health information therapy counseling needed improvement
• Bringing the War Back Home (2007) · doi

  BACKGROUND: Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) have endured high combat stress and are eligible for 2 years of free military service-related health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system, yet little is known about the burden and clinical circumstances of mental health diagnoses among OEF/OIF veterans seen at VA facilities.

  Keywords: veterans health freedom care background operations enduring iraqi endured high combat stress eligible years free
• Gender Differences in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Help Seeking in the U.S. Army (2015) · doi

  BACKGROUND: Inconsistent findings between studies of gender differences in mental health outcomes in military samples have left open questions of differential prevalence in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among all United States Army soldiers and in differential psychosocial and comorbid risk and protective factor profiles and their association with receipt of treatment.

  Keywords: differential background inconsistent gender differences mental health outcomes military samples left open questions prevalence posttraumatic