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Gender moderates the association of military sexual trauma and risk for psychological distress among VA-enrolled veterans
- Source :
- Journal of Affective Disorders. 268:215-220
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Background Military sexual trauma (MST) is associated with increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression diagnoses, as well as suicidal ideation/behavior (SI/B). Little is known about the differential effect of gender on the association of MST and the aforementioned mental health outcomes. As females are the fastest growing subpopulation of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), it is imperative to assess possible between-gender differences in the association of MST with PTSD, depression, and SI/B. Methods Participants were 435,690 (n = 382,021, 87.7% men) 9/11 era veterans seen for care at the VHA between 2004 and 2014. Demographics, gender, PTSD and depression diagnoses, SI/B, and MST screen status were extracted from medical records. Adjusted logistic regression models assessed the moderating effect of gender on the association of MST with PTSD and depression diagnoses, as well as SI/B. Results Women with MST had a larger increased risk for a PTSD diagnosis (predicted probability =0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.56, 0.56]) and comparable risk for a depression diagnosis (predicted probability = 0.63, 95% CI [0.63, 0.64]) compared to men with MST. Men were more likely to have evidence of SI/B (predicted probability = 1.07, 95% CI [0.10, 0.11]) relative to women, but the interaction between gender and MST was nonsignificant. Limitations Data were limited to veterans seeking care through VHA and the MST screen did not account for MST severity. Conclusions Non-VHA settings may consider screening for MST in both men and women, given that risk for PTSD and depression is heightened among female survivors of MST.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Psychological Distress
Logistic regression
Suicidal Ideation
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
03 medical and health sciences
Sex Factors
0302 clinical medicine
Sexual Trauma
Humans
Medicine
Survivors
Association (psychology)
Suicidal ideation
Depression (differential diagnoses)
Veterans
business.industry
Medical record
Sex Offenses
Psychological distress
Middle Aged
Mental health
Confidence interval
030227 psychiatry
Psychiatry and Mental health
Clinical Psychology
Military Personnel
Female
medicine.symptom
business
human activities
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 01650327
- Volume :
- 268
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....14f0ca5ede946ca5d6bd661709453f7c