Identifying Predictors of Positive and Negative Affect at Mid-Deployment Among Military Medical Personnel

• Published in: Military medicine 2024-08, Vol.189 (Supplement_3), p.142-148
• Main Authors: Gomes, Kimberly D, Moore, Brian A, Straud, Casey L, Baker, Monty T, Isler, William C, McNally, Richard J, Litz, Brett T, Peterson, Alan L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Affect; Female; Health Personnel - psychology; Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Male; Middle Aged; Military Deployment - psychology; Military Deployment - statistics & numerical data; Military Personnel - psychology; Military Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Self Report - statistics & numerical data; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0026-4075; 1930-613X; 1930-613X
• DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usae062

Positive and negative affect influence an individual's ability to utilize available physical, psychological, and social resources to maximize responses to life events. Little research has examined the factors that influence the development of positive affect or reduction of negative affective responses among deployed military personnel. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between deployment-related stressors and symptoms of behavioral health concerns with affectivity among deployed U.S. service members. Participants were 1148 U.S. Air Force medical personnel deployed to Balad, Iraq, between 2004 and 2011. All participants completed self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, general military and combat exposure, stress, and affectivity. The Institutional Review Board at Wilford Hall Medical Center, the Air Force Personnel Survey Program, and the U.S. Army's Joint Combat Casualty Research Team reviewed and approved the study. Most respondents (89%, 1,018/1,139) reported a positive military experience, but many respondents reported exposure to a potentially traumatic event during deployment. For example, seeing dead or seriously injured Americans (47%, 523/1,123) was the most common exposure reported by participants. A large portion of personnel (21%, 232/1,089) reported clinical levels of PTSD symptoms (score of 33 or higher on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military version). Risk factors, including PTSD symptoms, combat exposure, and stress, explained 39% of the variance in negative affect, R2 = 0.39, F(1046) = 224.96, P