title: Psychological adjustment and retention of Australian Army reservists following a stability operation.
abstract: Australian Army reservists (n=92) and a comparable group of regulars (n=90) were surveyed at the end of a 7-month deployment on a stability operation in Timor Leste and again approximately 6 months after returning to Australia. Both reservists and regulars displayed sound mental health, as measured by the K10 and PCL-C at both time points. Conversely, both groups reported only low levels of traumatic stress (Traumatic Stress Exposure Scale-Revised) and nontraumatic stress (Major Stressors Inventory). The nontraumatic stress reported by the reservists emanated predominately from work-related frustrations, more so than the regulars. Notwithstanding their reports of work-related stress and only average morale, 65% of the reservists reported that deployment was a positive experience, and 70% continued to render ongoing military service continuously over a 6-year follow-up, significantly more than either the sample of regulars (48%) or projections for reservists (32%). Future directions for research are identified that may promote mental health and retention of reservists.
authors.affiliation: Australian Army, Headquarters Second Division, Pozieres Lines, Randwick Barracks, Avoca Street, Randwick, New South Wales 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: Geoffrey J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Orme
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kehoe
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014480:United Nations; D055815:Young Adult