An Analysis of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in United States Air Force Drone Operators

Abstract

Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), commonly referred to as "drones," have emerged over the past decade as an innovative warfighting tool. Given there is a paucity of empirical research assessing drone operators, the purpose of this study was to assess for the prevalence of PTSD symptoms among this cohort. Of the 1084 United States Air Force (USAF) drone operators that participated, a total of 4.3% endorsed a pattern of symptoms of moderate to extreme level of severity meeting criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 4th edition. The incidence of PTSD among USAF drone operators in this study was lower than rates of PTSD (10-18%) among military personnel returning from deployment but higher than incidence rates (less than 1%) of USAF drone operators reported in electronic medical records. Although low PTSD rates may be promising, limitations to this study are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 17, 2014
Accession Number
ADA610977

Entities

People

  • Laura Reardon
  • Tanya Goodman
  • Wayne Chappelle
  • William R Thompson

Organizations

  • United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Cognition
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Health Services
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Disorders
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • Psychology
  • Remotely Piloted Vehicles
  • Therapy
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

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  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Microelectronics