Chesnut Ryan, Aronson Keith R, Perkins Daniel F
Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
Social Science Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
Depress Anxiety. 2025 Sep 5;2025:5572394. doi: 10.1155/da/5572394. eCollection 2025.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a world-wide health emergency that resulted in individuals experiencing challenges in numerous life domains. Life domains affected included physical and mental health, finances, and social isolation. Many health and research professionals evidenced concern that veterans were more likely than civilians to experience COVID-19 related problems due to their "at-risk" health status. Veterans are at-risk for health problems due to encountering unique military experiences such as traumatic exposures, development of trauma-related mental health symptoms or disorders, combat-related injuries, and disability, exposure to toxins such as burn pits and biological agents, and living with chronic stress during their transition to civilian life. It was suggested that the disruptions and challenges the COVID-19 pandemic created could trigger mental health problems among veterans. Indeed, based on cumulative stress theory, female veterans and veterans from racial and ethnic minority groups were thought to be particularly vulnerable for experiencing mental health challenges. The current study examined changes in the symptoms of depression and anxiety before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic among a large and diverse sample of post-9/11 veterans. As predicted, when compared to White male veterans, male and female veterans from racial and ethnic minority groups reported having higher symptom levels of anxiety and depression before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. All veterans, except for females from racial and ethnic minority groups, reported experiencing increases in symptoms over time. Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), combat exposure, and length of longest deployment were inconsistently associated with symptoms over time. The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with individuals experiencing increased anxious and depressive symptoms over time, although not in a wholly consistent manner. Future global health emergencies may have differential gender- and race/ethnicity-based effects on veterans; thus, veteran-serving organizations should carefully plan their responses to such crises.
新冠疫情是一场全球范围的卫生突发事件，致使个人在众多生活领域面临挑战。受影响的生活领域包括身心健康、财务状况以及社交隔离。许多健康和研究专业人员担心，退伍军人因其 “高危” 的健康状况，比平民更易出现与新冠疫情相关的问题。退伍军人由于经历过独特的军事体验，如创伤暴露、创伤相关心理健康症状或障碍的发展、战斗相关损伤和残疾、接触诸如燃烧坑和生物制剂等毒素，以及在向平民生活过渡期间长期承受压力，因而面临健康问题的风险。有人认为，新冠疫情造成的干扰和挑战可能引发退伍军人的心理健康问题。事实上，根据累积应激理论，女性退伍军人以及来自种族和少数民族群体的退伍军人被认为在经历心理健康挑战方面尤其脆弱。本研究调查了 “9·11” 事件后退伍军人的一个大型多样样本在新冠疫情之前、期间和之后抑郁和焦虑症状的变化。正如预测的那样，与白人男性退伍军人相比，来自种族和少数民族群体的男性和女性退伍军人在新冠疫情之前、期间和之后报告的焦虑和抑郁症状水平更高。除了来自种族和少数民族群体的女性退伍军人外，所有退伍军人都报告随着时间推移症状有所增加。童年不良经历（ACEs）、战斗暴露以及最长部署时长与症状随时间的变化之间的关联并不一致。结果表明，随着时间推移，新冠疫情与个人焦虑和抑郁症状增加有关，尽管并非完全一致。未来的全球卫生突发事件可能对退伍军人产生基于性别和种族/民族的不同影响；因此，为退伍军人服务的组织应仔细规划应对此类危机的措施。
