title: Predictors of risk and resilience for posttraumatic stress disorder among ground combat Marines: methods of the Marine Resiliency Study.
abstract: The Marine Resiliency Study (MRS) is a prospective study of factors predictive of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among approximately 2,600 Marines in 4 battalions deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. We describe the MRS design and predeployment participant characteristics. Starting in 2008, our research team conducted structured clinical interviews on Marine bases and collected data 4 times: at predeployment and at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months postdeployment. Integrated with these data are medical and career histories from the Career History Archival Medical and Personnel System (CHAMPS) database. The CHAMPS database showed that 7.4% of the Marines enrolled in MRS had at least 1 mental health diagnosis. Of enrolled Marines, approximately half (51.3%) had prior deployments. We found a moderate positive relationship between deployment history and PTSD prevalence in these baseline data.
authors.affiliation: VA Center for Stress and Mental Health (116A), VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Dr, San Diego, CA 92161, USA. dgbaker@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Dewleen G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.forename: Brett T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Litz
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Geyer
authors.forename: Victoria B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Risbrough
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Nievergelt
authors.forename: Daniel T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Gerald E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Schork
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Vasterling
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Webb-Murphy
mesh_terms: D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003625:Data Collection; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries