Psychological risk and resiliency in female and male military medical personnel across the deployment cycle.

BackgroundDespite the increasing number of female service members in the US and internationally, previous studies examining gender-specific deployment outcomes are limited due to disproportionate sample sizes. Military medical personnel serve as a promising population to better understand gender-specific military psychological outcomes across a deployment cycle.ObjectivesTo evaluate differences in risk factors and psychological health in female and male medical personnel across a combat deployment.DesignA cross sectional cohort study of medical personnel (48% female) in the United States Air Force deployed to Iraq between 2004 and 2011 assessed predeployment (N = 759), middeployment (N = 902), and postdeployment (N = 270).MethodsSelf-reports of traumatic life events, attitudes about deployment experiences, resilience, posttraumatic growth, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety were collected.ResultsAt predeployment, females reported greater exposure to traumatic events (t = -3.19, d = -0.23, P < .001), more negative attitudes about the military (t = 3.94, d = 0.29, P < .001), higher symptoms of depression (t = -2.83, d = -0.21, P = .005), and lower resilience (t = 2.41, d = 0.18, P = .016). At middeployment, females reported more negative military experiences (t = 3.51, d = 0.58, P < .001). At postdeployment, females reported more negative military experiences (t = 2.49, d = 0.53, P = .015), greater exposure to military healthcare stressors (t = -2.66, d = 0.57, P = .009), greater severity of posttraumatic stress (t = -3.48, d = 0.74, P < .001) and depression symptoms (t = -3.79, d = -0.81, P < .001).ConclusionsFemale and male medical personnel responded similarly for most deployment-related outcomes. However, some psychological sequalae are higher for females, possibly due to a reduced sense of resiliency prior to deployment and less positive outlook towards the military mission.