Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee.
J Clin Psychol. 2020 Oct;76(10):1851-1868. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22959. Epub 2020 May 11.
After combat, veterans may experience mental health symptomology and attempt to make meaning from their experiences. The present study qualitatively examined the mental health effects of deployment and meaning-making among Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans.
OIF/OEF veterans who were exposed to combat (N = 14) participated in semi-structured interviews to assess how their perspectives had changed post-deployment. Most participants (86%) were male, with a mean age of 30.
Veterans described issues post-combat that caused psychological distress or promoted distancing from others. Veterans also discussed factors that could promote or hinder meaning-making, including perceptions of growth, changed global beliefs, and disillusionment. Finally, veterans described psychological reactions to death, which could be related to moral injury.
Mental health concerns, meaning-making, and consideration of mortality appear to characterize veterans' experiences post-deployment. These constructs may be important for clinicians to consider when working with OIF/OEF veterans.
战后，退伍军人可能会出现心理健康症状，并试图从自己的经历中寻找意义。本研究通过定性研究，探讨了伊拉克自由行动（OIF）或持久自由行动（OEF）退伍军人的部署和意义建构对其心理健康的影响。
经历过战斗的 OIF/OEF 退伍军人（N=14）参加了半结构化访谈，以评估他们在部署后的观点变化。大多数参与者（86%）为男性，平均年龄为 30 岁。
退伍军人描述了战斗后导致心理困扰或与他人疏远的问题。退伍军人还讨论了促进或阻碍意义建构的因素，包括成长的认知、改变的全球信仰和幻灭。最后，退伍军人描述了对死亡的心理反应，这可能与道德伤害有关。
心理健康问题、意义建构和对死亡的思考似乎是退伍军人在部署后的特征。这些结构可能对与 OIF/OEF 退伍军人合作的临床医生很重要。
