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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Laurel L. Hourani, PhD, MPH, Behavioral Health Research Division, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, 919-316-3369, hourani@rti.org

As a minority among military personnel, women may experience different types and degrees of stressors and pressures, and their health outcomes and job performance may be distinctive from those of their male counterparts and from women in the civilian sector. The 1995, 1998, 2002 and 2005 DOD Surveys of Health Related Behaviors Among Military Personnel provide important data on occupational stressors, coping behaviors, mental health, and job performance of active-duty personnel worldwide in all branches of the military. In addition to determining the prevalence of perceived work and family stress and the most frequently identified stressors among men and women across the four time periods, types of behaviors for coping with stress are examined by gender. We also examine gender differences in the relationships between stress, mental health, and productivity loss (defined by interference with ability to perform military job, lost work time, and on-the-job accidents). Finally, we report on trends in help-seeking among women and men who felt they needed mental health counseling or therapy and the perceived damage to one's military career for seeking mental health services. Discussion focuses on the relevance of these findings to the development of new strategies to prevent psychological morbidity and improve retention of military personnel.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the prevalence and correlates of perceived work and family stress in military women and men.
• Idenitfy gender differences in the relationships between stress, mental health and productivity loss.
• Describe trends in help-seeking among women and men who felt they needed mental health treatment.

Keywords: Adult and Child Mental Health, Stress

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered