Deployment-related stress disorder in german soldiers: utilization of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment.

Introduction: Military missions abroad carry a high risk of psychological traumatization. In this study, we examined the reasons for increased utilization of the treatments offered to soldiers by the German armed forces' psychiatric services.

Method: We analyzed trends in initial contacts with psychiatrists and psychotherapists among German soldiers participating in missions to Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder in soldiers following deployment abroad: how big is the hidden problem?

Background: Little is known about the frequency of traumatic event exposure and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among German soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

Methods: We studied a random sample consisting of 1599 soldiers who had served in the 2009/2010 ISAF mission in Afghanistan, stratified by deployment location and unit. Twelve months after their return to Germany, the soldiers were assessed with a Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to establish the diagnoses of mental disorders and PTSD according to the DSM-IV.

Prevalence, incidence and determinants of PTSD and other mental disorders: design and methods of the PID-PTSD+3 study.

Investigation of the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and other mental disorders associated with military deployment in international missions poses several methodological and procedural challenges. This paper describes the design and sampling strategies, instruments, and experimental procedures applied in a study programme aimed to examine military deployment-related mental health and disorders (prevalence and trajectories) and to identify vulnerability and risk factors (e.g.

Lifetime traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder in the German population: results of a representative population survey.

Only a few European population-based studies on the epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are available to date. This study aims to broaden the epidemiological knowledge of traumatic experiences (TEs), PTSD, and comorbid mental conditions in a representative German sample (N = 2510). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview list of traumatic events, the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 as well as PHQ-15 were used in this survey.

[Psychological strain following foreign assignment - results of an investigation among German soldiers serving in ISAF VII].

We present results of an investigation dealing with psychological strain in soldiers following a foreign assignment. There are few studies in German-speaking countries concerned with prevalence of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in soldiers. A total of 118 soldiers were questioned (age: 20 - 46; 2,6 % female).