The Persian Gulf conflict: the impact of stressors as perceived by Army reservists.

This study examines the extent to which certain stressors influenced U.S. Army Reserve soldiers and their families as a result of the Persian Gulf conflict. Family composition, location of the soldier, rank, and gender were variables used to make comparisons of how the stressors affected soldiers and their families. Results revealed that married soldiers suffered from greater stress overall than single soldiers. Lower ranking soldiers and their families were affected less by the stressors outlined in this study than higher ranking soldiers and their families. Female soldiers were influenced less by the stressors than their male counterparts. Single-parent families handled the stressors better than two-parent families, and families with three or more school-age children responded better to the stress indicators than families with no children in school. On the basis of these results, clinical implications are discussed.