title: Gender, Position of Authority, and the Risk of Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among a National Sample of U.S. Reserve Component Personnel.
abstract: Recent U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen dramatic increases in the proportion of women serving and the breadth of their occupational roles. General population studies suggest that women, compared with men, and persons with lower, as compared with higher, social position may be at greater risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. However, these relations remain unclear in military populations. Accordingly, we aimed to estimate the effects of 1) gender, 2) military authority (i.e., rank), and 3) the interaction of gender and military authority on a) risk of most recent deployment-related PTSD and b) risk of depression since most recent deployment.
  
  
  
  Using a nationally representative sample of 1,024 previously deployed Reserve Component personnel surveyed in 2010, we constructed multivariable logistic regression models to estimate effects of interest.
  
  
  
  Weighted multivariable logistic regression models demonstrated no statistically significant associations between gender or authority, and either PTSD or depression. Interaction models demonstrated multiplicative statistical interaction between gender and authority for PTSD (beta = -2.37; p = .01), and depression (beta = -1.21; p = .057). Predicted probabilities of PTSD and depression, respectively, were lowest in male officers (0.06, 0.09), followed by male enlisted (0.07, 0.14), female enlisted (0.07, 0.15), and female officers (0.30, 0.25).
  
  
  
  Female officers in the Reserve Component may be at greatest risk for PTSD and depression after deployment, relative to their male and enlisted counterparts, and this relation is not explained by deployment trauma exposure. Future studies may fruitfully examine whether social support, family responsibilities peri-deployment, or contradictory class status may explain these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York; Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: ghcohen@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Gregory H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Sampson
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York.
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Dale
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gifford
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fullerton
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ursano
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York; Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galea
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult