TY - JOUR

T1 - Community integration after deployment to Afghanistan

T2 - a longitudinal investigation of Danish soldiers

AU - Karstoft, Karen Inge

AU - Armour, Cherie

AU - Andersen, Søren B.

AU - Bertelsen, Mette

AU - Madsen, Trine

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

PY - 2015/4

Y1 - 2015/4

N2 - Objective: In the years following military deployment, soldiers may experience problems integrating into the community. However, little is known about the nature and prevalence of these problems and if they relate to posttraumatic symptomatology.Methods: In a prospective, longitudinal study of Danish soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 (N = 743), we assessed community reintegration difficulties 2.5 years after home coming (study sample: N = 454). Furthermore, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed before, during, and after deployment. Trajectories of PTSD symptoms from a previously published latent growth mixture modeling analysis were used to address whether community reintegration difficulties differ as a result of course and level of PTSD symptoms.Results: Between 3.6 and 18.0 % reported to have some, a lot, or extreme difficulties in reintegration domains such as interpersonal functioning, productivity, community involvement, and self-care. Mean level of reintegration difficulties differed significantly across six PTSD symptom trajectories (range 6.35–36.00); with more symptomatic trajectories experiencing greater community reintegration difficulties.Conclusions: Reintegration difficulties after deployment are present in less than 20 % of Danish soldiers who return from Afghanistan. Difficulties are greater in individuals who follow symptomatic PTSD trajectories in the first years following deployment than in those who follow a low-stable trajectory with no or few symptoms.

AB - Objective: In the years following military deployment, soldiers may experience problems integrating into the community. However, little is known about the nature and prevalence of these problems and if they relate to posttraumatic symptomatology.Methods: In a prospective, longitudinal study of Danish soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 (N = 743), we assessed community reintegration difficulties 2.5 years after home coming (study sample: N = 454). Furthermore, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed before, during, and after deployment. Trajectories of PTSD symptoms from a previously published latent growth mixture modeling analysis were used to address whether community reintegration difficulties differ as a result of course and level of PTSD symptoms.Results: Between 3.6 and 18.0 % reported to have some, a lot, or extreme difficulties in reintegration domains such as interpersonal functioning, productivity, community involvement, and self-care. Mean level of reintegration difficulties differed significantly across six PTSD symptom trajectories (range 6.35–36.00); with more symptomatic trajectories experiencing greater community reintegration difficulties.Conclusions: Reintegration difficulties after deployment are present in less than 20 % of Danish soldiers who return from Afghanistan. Difficulties are greater in individuals who follow symptomatic PTSD trajectories in the first years following deployment than in those who follow a low-stable trajectory with no or few symptoms.

KW - Community reintegration

KW - Longitudinal analysis

KW - Military

KW - Mixture modeling

KW - Operation enduring freedom

KW - PTSD

U2 - 10.1007/s00127-014-0973-2

DO - 10.1007/s00127-014-0973-2

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25308059

AN - SCOPUS:84925483047

VL - 50

SP - 653

EP - 660

JO - Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

JF - Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

SN - 0933-7954

IS - 4

ER -