Functioning and psychiatric symptoms among military men and women exposed to sexual stressors.
OBJECTIVE
The goal was to describe military men's and women's functioning and psychiatric symptoms according to their military sexual stressor exposure.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey of 204 Army soldiers and 611 other active duty troops (487 men and 327 women) was performed.


RESULTS
Forty-five percent of men and 80% of women reported at least one sexual stressor type (i.e., sexual identity challenges, sexual harassment, or sexual assault). After adjustment, subjects reporting more types of sexual stressors had poorer physical, work, role, and social functioning; more-severe post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms; and more somatic concerns, compared with subjects reporting fewer or no sexual stressor types (all p < or = 0.004). Interactions by gender were insignificant (all p > 0.11). Within sexual stressor category, men and women reported similar mean adjusted functioning and psychiatric symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
For both men and women, impaired functioning and more severe psychiatric symptoms were more common among those reporting more types of sexual stressors.
Murdoch
Maureen
M
Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA.
Pryor
John Barron
JB
Polusny
Melissa Anderson
MA
Gackstetter
Gary Dean
GD
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008603:Mental Health; D008889:Military Personnel; D008890:Military Psychiatry; D015995:Prevalence; D017406:Sexual Harassment; D012931:Social Environment; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence