title: Violent behaviour in U.K. military personnel returning home after deployment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is growing concern about an alleged rise in violent behaviour amongst military personnel returning from deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of violence in a sample of U.K. military personnel following homecoming from deployment in Iraq and to examine the impact of deployment-related experiences, such as combat trauma, on violence, and the role of sociodemographics and pre-enlistment antisocial behaviour.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study used baseline data from a cohort study of a large randomly selected sample of U.K. Armed Forces personnel in service at the time of the Iraq war (2003). Regular personnel (n=4928) who had been deployed to Iraq were included. Data, collected by questionnaire, included information on deployment experiences, sociodemographic and military characteristics, pre-enlistment antisocial behaviour, post-deployment health outcomes and a self-report measure of physical violence in the weeks following return from deployment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prevalence of violence was 12.6%. This was strongly associated with pre-enlistment antisocial behaviour [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.9-4.4]. After controlling for pre-enlistment antisocial behaviour, sociodemographics and military factors, violence was still strongly associated with holding a combat role (aOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.6-2.5) and having experienced multiple traumatic events on deployment (aOR for four or more traumatic events 3.7, 95% CI 2.5-5.5). Violence on homecoming was also associated with mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (aOR 4.8, 95% CI 3.2-7.2) and alcohol misuse (aOR 3.1, 95% CI 2.5-3.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Experiences of combat and trauma during deployment were significantly associated with violent behaviour following homecoming in U.K. military personnel. Post-deployment mental health problems and alcohol misuse are also associated with increased violence.
authors: Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK. deirdre.macmanus@kcl.ac.uk
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Macmanus
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Dean
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Al Bakir
authors: A C
authors: AC
authors: Iversen
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Hull
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Fahy
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Wessely
authors: N T
authors: NT
authors: Fear
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology; D006113:United Kingdom; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*