The Whole Family Serves: Supporting Sexual Minority Youth in Military Families

Sexual minority youth in military families have a unique set of stressors that affect their mental, emotional, and physical health. There is a pronounced gap in data addressing the specific stressors of this population and how they interact to impact the health of the adolescent. 

The culture of the United States military has historically been heterosexist and homophobic, propelled primarily by policies that restricted the recruitment and service of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals, leading to a continued secrecy around sexual orientation that may affect how sexual minority youth within the community view themselves. 

Homophobia, social stigma, and victimization lead to significant health disparities among sexual minority youth, and youth connected to the military have additional stressors as a result of frequent moves, parental deployment, and general military culture. 

Primary care providers must be aware of these stressors to provide a safe environment, thorough screening, and competent care for these adolescents.

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By:  Gyura AN, McCauley SO.

Correspondence: Ashley N. Gyura, BSN, RN, School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, NY.

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Sexually Transmitted Infections & Sexual Behavior of Deploying Shipboard US Military Personnel

OBJECTIVES:

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence and risk behaviour may differ at different phases of deployment. We examined STI prevalence and sexual behaviour in the predeployment time period (12 months prior) among recently deployed shipboard US Navy and Marine Corps military personnel.

METHODS:

Data were collected from 1938 male and 515 female service members through an anonymous, self-completed survey assessing sexual behaviours and STI acquisition characteristics in the past 12 months. Cross-sectional sex-stratified descriptive statistics are reported.

RESULTS:

Overall, 67% (n=1262/1896) reported last sex with a military beneficiary (spouse, n=931, non-spouse service member, n=331). Among those with a sexual partner outside their primary partnership, 24% (n=90/373) reported using a condom the last time they had sex and 30% (n=72/243) reported their outside partner was a service member. In total, 90% (n=210/233) reported acquiring their most recent STI in the USA (88%, n=126/143 among those reporting ≥1 deployments and an STI ≥1 year ago) and a significantly higher proportion (p<0.01) of women than men acquired the STI from their regular partner (54% vs 21%) and/or a service member (50% vs 26%).

CONCLUSIONS:

Findings suggest a complex sexual network among service members and military beneficiaries. Findings may extend to other mobile civilian and military populations. Data suggest most STI transmission within the shipboard community may occur in local versus foreign ports but analyses from later time points in deployment are needed. These data may inform more effective STI prevention interventions.

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By:  Harbertson J1, Scott PT2, Moore J3, Wolf M3, Morris J3, Thrasher S3, D'Onofrio M2, Grillo MP4, Jacobs MB4, Tran BR4, Tian J5, Ito SI4, McAnany J4, Michael N2,Hale BR6.

• 1US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, USA Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
• 2US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
• 3Third Fleet, US Navy, San Diego, California, USA.
• 4Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
• 5US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
• 6Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA. 

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Aggressive and Violent Behavior among Military Personnel Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan: Prevalence and Link with Deployment and Combat Exposure

A systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted on studies of the prevalence of aggressive and violent behavior, as well as of violent offenses and convictions, among military personnel following deployment to Iraq and/or Afghanistan; the relationship with deployment and combat exposure; and the role that mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), have on the pathway between deployment and combat to violence. 

Seventeen studies published between January 1, 2001, and February 12, 2014, in the United States and the United Kingdom met the inclusion criteria. Despite methodological differences across studies, aggressive behavior was found to be prevalent among serving and formerly serving personnel, with pooled estimates of 10% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1, 20) for physical assault and 29% (95% CI: 25, 36) for all types of physical aggression in the last month, and worthy of further exploration. In both countries, rates were increased among combat-exposed, formerly serving personnel. 

The majority of studies suggested a small-to-moderate association between combat exposure and postdeployment physical aggression and violence, with a pooled estimate of the weighted odds ratio = 3.24 (95% CI: 2.75, 3.82), with several studies finding that violence increased with intensity and frequency of exposure to combat traumas. The review's findings support the mediating role of PTSD between combat and postdeployment violence and the importance of alcohol, especially if comorbid with PTSD.

Full PDF article at:  http://goo.gl/tfAkP2

By:  Deirdre MacManus^*, Roberto Rona,Hannah Dickson,Greta Somaini,Nicola Fear andSimon Wessely

^*Correspondence to Dr. Deirdre MacManus, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom (e-mail: deirdre.macmanus@kcl.ac.uk).

 

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Sexual Trauma and Combat During Deployment: Associations with Suicidal Ideation among OEF/OIF/OND Veterans

Compelling evidence has emerged on the association between military sexual trauma and suicide attempt; however, research investigating how sexual trauma during deployment relates to suicidal ideation has received considerably less attention and has yielded mixed findings. Furthermore, such research has not accounted for other types of trauma that may occur during deployment. 

Our objectives were to examine whether sexual trauma during deployment was associated with recent suicidal ideation, adjusting for exposure to combat. Our sample included 199 Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) veterans entering inpatient trauma-focused treatment who completed the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (Beck & Steer, ) and the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory Sexual Harassment and Combat Experiences Scales (King, King, Vogt, Knight, & Samper, ). 

Deployment-related sexual trauma was significantly associated with recent suicidal ideation, adjusting for age and gender and additionally for combat. 

These findings underscore the importance of assessing for deployment-related sexual trauma when assessing suicide risk in OEF/OIF/OND veterans in inpatient settings.

Via: http://ht.ly/Sa2x8 

By: Monteith LL1,2, Menefee DS3,4, Forster JE1,5, Wanner JL3,4, Bahraini NH1,2,6.

• 1Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Denver, Colorado, USA.
• 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
• 3Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, VISN 16 MIRECC, Houston, Texas, USA.
• 4Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
• 5Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
• 6Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.

Military Sexual Trauma among Recent Veterans: Correlates of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment

Military sexual trauma (MST) includes sexual harassment or sexual assault that occurs during military service and is of increasing public health concern. The population prevalence of MST among female and male veterans who served during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) has not been estimated to our knowledge. The purpose of this study is to assess the population prevalence and identify military correlates of MST, sexual harassment, and sexual assault among OEF/OIF veterans.

MST was assessed in the 2009-2011 National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans, a survey of 60,000 veterans who served during the OEF/OIF eras (response rate, 34%, n=20,563). Weighted prevalence estimates and AORs of MST, sexual harassment, and sexual assault among women and men were calculated. Gender-stratified logistic regression models controlled for military and demographic characteristics. Data analyses were conducted in 2013-2014.

Approximately 41% of women and 4% of men reported experiencing MST. Deployed men had lower risk for MST compared with non-deployed men, though no difference was found among women. 

However, veterans reporting combat exposure during deployment had increased risk for MST compared with those without, while controlling for OEF/OIF deployment. 

Among women, Marines and Navy veterans had increased risk for MST compared with Air Force veterans. MST was significantly higher among veterans who reported using Veterans Affairs healthcare services.

These prevalence estimates underscore the importance of public awareness and continued investigation of the public health impact of MST.

Via: http://ht.ly/Sa28i 

By: Barth SK1, Kimerling RE2, Pavao J2, McCutcheon SJ3, Batten SV4, Dursa E5, Peterson MR5, Schneiderman AI5.

• 1Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Health, Post Deployment Health, Epidemiology Program, Washington, District of Columbia. Electronic address: shannon.barth@va.gov.
• 2Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Mental Health Services and National Center for PTSD, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California.
• 3Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Mental Health Services, Washington, District of Columbia.
• 4Booz Allen Hamilton, Washington, District of Columbia.
• 5Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Health, Post Deployment Health, Epidemiology Program, Washington, District of Columbia.