Psychological health and trauma in male and female soldiers

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of premilitary and military trauma on the psychological health of more than 1,000 female and male active duty soldiers. Questionnaire data provided information on demographics, history of trauma exposure, and general psychological health as assessed by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The results indicated that females reported experiencing more sexual traumas and males reported more nonsexual traumas. BSI subscale scores indicated poorer psychological health among all of the subjects compared with BSI normative groups and other Army soldiers. The need for military norms for the BSI is discussed.