"Military service, with and without hazardous duty deployment, was not a significant predictor of the total number of symptoms of poor mental health."

J Am Coll Health. 2014 Nov 14:0. [Epub ahead of print]

Mental Health Symptoms Among Student Service Members/Veterans and Civilian College Students.

Cleveland SD1, Branscum AJ, Bovbjerg VE, Thorburn S.

Author information

• 1a School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences , Oregon State University , Corvallis , Oregon.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate if and to what extent student service members/veterans differ from civilian college students in the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of poor mental health. 

Participants: The Fall 2011 implementation of the American CollegeHealth Association-National College Health Assessment included 27,774 respondents from 44 colleges and universities. 

Methods: Participants were matched using propensity scores and the prevalence of symptoms was compared using logistic regression and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models. 

Results: The odds of feeling overwhelmed in the last 12 months were significantly lower among student service members/veterans with a history of hazardous duty (OR = 0.46, adjusted p-value <0.05) compared to civlian students. Military service, with and without hazardous duty deployment, was not a significant predictor of the total number of symptoms of poor mental health. 

Conclusions: Current student service members/veterans may not be disproportionately affected by poor psychological functioning.