The Mental Health of US Military Women in Combat Support Occupations
Abstract
The proportion of women in the military is increasing and they are being selected into jobs that are more combat-related. However, the mental health effects of working in combat support occupations among military women have not been previously evaluated. Active-duty enlisted Navy and Marine Corps women in combat support (N = 10,299) and non-combat support occupations (N = 63,478) were followed for 2 years between January 1, 1994, and August 31, 2001. Hospitalization diagnoses were examined and organized into 8 categories of mental disorders; Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to describe these outcomes. Women in combat support occupations were found to be significantly less likely to be hospitalized for a mental disorder than women in all other military occupations. These results are reassuring but may be confounded by a healthy worker effect. Further studies are needed to assess how exposure to combat support occupations affects the long-term health of US military women.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA434385
Entities
People
- Besa Smith
- Krista E. Lindstrom
- Linda Z. Wang
- Margaret A. K. Ryan
- Robert John Reed
- Timothy Steven Wells
- Tyler Clain Smith
- Wendy E. Goldfinger
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center