Publications by authors named "Rebecca Blais"

Background: Compared to the general population, military personnel are at increased risk for insomnia and poor psychological well-being. The present study: (1) compared categories of insomnia severity between cadets of the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF) and previously published norms and (2) investigated the associations between insomnia and psychological well-being related to perceived stress, mental toughness, dark triad traits, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).

Methods: A total of 216 cadets of the SAF (mean age: 20.

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogeneous disorder with no universal symptom presentation. Sex differences in rates of PTSD among military samples are established, such that females are more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD, with severity particularly heightened among females exposed to military sexual assault (MSA). However, limited research has examined the PTSD symptom network structure among MSA survivors and whether it differs by sex.

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Introduction: Risk for depression is heightened among male service members/veterans relative to civilians. Research suggests social support protects service members/veterans from depressive symptoms, but most studies focus on positive social support. Negative social support, which can include unwanted emotional involvement or social negativity, could be more impactful on depressive symptoms than positive; however, this has not been examined in military samples.

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Background: Compared to civilians and non-medical personnel, military medical doctors are at increased risk for sleep disturbances and impaired psychological well-being. Despite their responsibility and workload, no research has examined sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the medical doctors (MDs) of the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF). Thus, the aims of the proposed study are (1) to conduct a cross-sectional study (labeled 'Survey-Study 1') of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; (2) to identify MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index >8), along with low psychological well-being such as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, but also emotion regulation, concentration, social life, strengths and difficulties, and mental toughness both in the private/professional and military context and (3) to offer those MDs with sleep disturbances an evidence-based and standardized online interventional group program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi) over a time lapse of 6 weeks (labeled 'Intervention-Study 2').

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: For military leaders, military values and virtues are important psychological prerequisites for successful leadership and for ethical and moral military behavior. However, research on predictors of military values and virtues is scarce. Given this background, we investigated whether Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), resilience, and vulnerable narcissism might be favorably or unfavorably associated with military values and virtues, and whether vulnerable narcissism could moderate the association between the OCB-by-resilience-interaction, and military virtues.

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition affecting military populations, with a higher prevalence compared to the general population. Despite the development of first-line trauma-focused treatments such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), a significant proportion of patients continue to experience persistent PTSD symptoms following treatment. This study utilized network analysis to explore the PTSD symptom network's dynamics pre- and post- trauma-focused treatment and investigated the role of military sexual trauma (MST) history in shaping the network.

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Introduction: The ability to collect data on posttraumatic reactions following military sexual trauma is impacted by data collection methods, such that under-reporting can occur when data are believed to be identifiable. This may be especially true for topics that are sensitive, including sexual trauma. Ensuring participation from service members using non-identifiable methods is challenging when service history cannot be confirmed.

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Sexual revictimization is heightened among military service members and veterans and is associated with greater posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and severity. The heightened distress following revictimization may be due to posttraumatic cognitions (PTC), which include negative beliefs about the self and world, and self-blame. Moreover, it is unclear whether men and women experience different levels of PTC.

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Sexual harassment and violence is a grave public health concern and risk for revictimization increases following initial exposure. Studies of sexual revictimization in military samples are generally limited to women and are focused on rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with no examination of how revictimization relates to interpersonal outcomes, such as relationship or sexual satisfaction. The current study addressed these gaps in a sample of 833 women and 556 men service members/veterans.

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Objective: Research in civilians and women shows negative social support is more deleterious for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than are the buffering effects of positive social support. However, this is understudied in male military samples. Moreover, appraisals of social support appear to be the mechanism of the association of social support type and PTSD severity, but appraisals as mediators have not been explored in military samples.

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Background: The presence of a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis or higher PTSD severity is associated with higher overall sexual dysfunction in female service members/veterans. However, the mechanisms linking PTSD to specific components of women's sexual arousal function, like lubrication and mental arousal, are unknown.

Methods: We conducted a survey among 464 women who reported probable Criterion A exposure for PTSD.

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: Military sexual trauma (MST) that involves assault is associated with poorer sexual function in U. S. women service members/veterans (SM/Vs).

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Objective: Higher posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are associated with poorer romantic relationship satisfaction in military samples. Studies have examined PTSD symptom clusters and their association with relationship satisfaction, but these studies are limited to the pre-Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ()-5 PTSD models or samples of women. The current study explored the best fitting model of PTSD using contemporary symptoms and examined the association of symptom clusters and relationship satisfaction in a sample of partnered male service members/veterans who reported exposure to a probable Criterion A event.

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Studies show that more positive relationship satisfaction can mitigate the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression severity on hazardous drinking in military samples. However, past studies were not circumscribed to female service members/veterans (SM/V), who represent the fastest growing demographic in the military. Moreover, studies did not examine moderators of specific symptom clusters of PTSD and depression with hazardous drinking.

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Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with sexual difficulties but the nuances of this relationship remain elusive. Research has increased in recent years, most notably following publication of several reviews in 2015.

Aim: This systematic review examines the relationship between PTSD and sexual difficulties in veterans/military personnel.

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Objective: The current study examined the moderating role of gender on the association of military sexual trauma (MST) type (harassment-only vs. assault) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) using the 6-factor Anhedonia Model.

Methods: Participants were 1321 service members/veterans.

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