Topics & Disorders

Depression

Depression is one of the world’s top public health problems, and it affects approximately 7% to 12% of men and 20% to 25% of women across their lifetime. While depression may not be commonly associated with traumatic experiences such as combat, rates of depression in our servicemen and women are not insignificant. Hoge et al., (2004) found rates between 14% and 15% in soldiers and Marines 3 to 4 months after deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)

Mild traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is considered a signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Concussion and mTBI are considered interchangeable terms. Brain injury is typically used in reference to moderate or severe TBI. Up to 80 % of military mTBI cases are due to exposure to IED blast.

Military Families and Deployment

When a servicemember leaves a family behind, both soldier and family are likely to feel an impact. Understanding the dynamic and what exacerbates or mitigates its influence provides a crucial background to treating all parties, from servicemembers to spouses to children.

Sexual Assault in the Military

Sexual victimization is a problem in both civilian and military populations. In the general US population lifetime prevalence of sexual assault is 17% and 3% for women and men, respectively. The rate of sexual victimization among male military members is roughly the same as general population. For women in the military, however, prevalence of sexual victimization rises to up to 33%, with a sizable minority of military women bringing a history of sexual victimization with them when they join the military.