title: Posttraumatic stress symptoms in Navy personnel: prevalence rates among recruits in basic training.
abstract: Individuals in the military are often required to endure high levels of stress as a result of demanding operational requirements or deployments. Individuals who enter the military with pre-existing mental health problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are likely to be at heightened risk of adverse reactions to military stressors. The present study documents the prevalence of PTSD symptoms among new Navy recruits and compares the prevalence of PTSD symptomology among recruits to prevalence rates that have been reported for comparable civilian populations. Results suggest that 15 percent of new Navy recruits are experiencing measurable symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Prevalence of these symptoms among Navy recruits is comparable to that among civilian adolescent and young adult populations.
authors.affiliation: Naval Health Research Center, Behavioral Science and Epidemiology Program, P.O. Box 85122, San Diego, CA 92186-5122, USA. stander@nhrc.navy.mil
authors.forename: Valerie A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Stander
authors.forename: Lex L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Merrill
authors.forename: Cynthia J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Thomsen
authors.forename: Joel S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Milner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data