Lucas Carrie L, Cederbaum Julie A, Kintzle Sara, Castro Carl Andrew
United States Air Force, Fairfield, CA, USA.
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2021 Nov;36(21-22):NP11894-NP11915. doi: 10.1177/0886260519889944. Epub 2019 Dec 2.
Stalking is associated with mental health concerns, although little is known about the influence of stalking and mental health concerns among veterans. This study evaluated stalking experienced during military service in two community-based, nonclinical samples of veterans ( = 1,980). Models explored (a) types of stalking, (b) characteristics of veterans who experienced stalking, and (c) the associations between stalking with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Types of stalking varied by sex; female veterans were significantly more likely to experience stalking than male veterans (58.5% vs. 34.6%, < .001, respectively). Female veterans reported unwanted messages, emails, or phone calls (37.2%), and male veterans experienced someone showing up unannounced or uninvited (23.5%) most frequently. Stalking experiences also differed by age with female and male veterans 18 to 39 years old significantly more likely to have experienced stalking ( < .001 and < .001, respectively) than veterans over age 40. Associations between prior stalking experiences and mental distress were found for both female and male veterans. Both female and male veterans who experienced stalking were significantly more likely to have probable PTSD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.04, 3.39] and OR = 3.08, 95% CI = [2.27, 4.18], respectively) and depression (OR = 2.54, 95% CI = [1.38, 4.58] and OR = 2.78, 95% CI = [2.05, 3.79], respectively). These findings highlight (a) the rates of stalking experienced during military service, (b) the need for assessment of stalking to inform treatment, and (c) lay the foundation for the Department of Defense (DoD) to further evaluate stalking among military populations.
跟踪行为与心理健康问题相关，尽管对于退伍军人中跟踪行为和心理健康问题的影响了解甚少。本研究在两个基于社区的非临床退伍军人样本（(n = 1980)）中评估了服役期间经历的跟踪行为。模型探讨了：（a）跟踪行为的类型；（b）经历跟踪行为的退伍军人的特征；以及（c）跟踪行为与创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和抑郁症之间的关联。跟踪行为的类型因性别而异；女性退伍军人比男性退伍军人经历跟踪行为的可能性显著更高（分别为58.5%和34.6%，(p <.001)）。女性退伍军人报告收到不必要的信息、电子邮件或电话（37.2%），而男性退伍军人最常经历有人未经通知或邀请就出现（23.5%）。跟踪行为经历在年龄上也有所不同，18至39岁的女性和男性退伍军人比40岁以上的退伍军人经历跟踪行为的可能性显著更高（分别为(p <.001)和(p <.001)）。在女性和男性退伍军人中均发现了先前跟踪行为经历与心理困扰之间的关联。经历跟踪行为的女性和男性退伍军人患可能的PTSD的可能性均显著更高（优势比[OR]分别为1.88，95%置信区间[CI] = [1.04, 3.39]和OR = 3.08，95% CI = [2.27, 4.18]）以及患抑郁症的可能性也显著更高（OR分别为2.54，95% CI = [1.38, 4.58]和OR = 2.78，95% CI = [2.05, 3.79]）。这些发现突出了：（a）服役期间经历跟踪行为的比率；（b）对跟踪行为进行评估以指导治疗的必要性；以及（c）为国防部（DoD）进一步评估军人中的跟踪行为奠定了基础。
