Printer Friendly Page
HOW AIR FORCE WOMEN ARE DEALING WITH THE STRESS
--
"We were surprised to find that work-family
conflict is an
independent and significant predictor of PTSD,
above and beyond combat exposure."
For more information about PTSD, use the VA
Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=ptsd&op=and
Story here...
http://www.newswise
.com/articles/view/532469/
Story below:
-------------------------
How Air Force Women Are Handling the Stress
Newswise — About 20 percent of Air Force women deployed during the Iraq
war report that they are experiencing at least one major symptom of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a University of
Michigan survey of 1,114 servicewomen.
The researchers also assessed the prevalence of family-work conflicts
among the military women surveyed, and analyzed the impact of these
conflicts on mental health and job functioning.
"We were surprised to find that work-family conflict is an independent
and significant predictor of PTSD, above and beyond combat exposure,"
said Penny Pierce, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve Program, who
presented preliminary findings from the survey at the annual meeting of
the American Psychological Association. "This finding is important
because there are things we can do to help minimize work-family stress
and the toll it is taking on women in the military."
Conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) and funded by a
grant from the U.S. Department of Defense through the TriService Nursing
Research Program, the survey is part of an ongoing study headed by
Pierce, an associate professor in the U-M School of Nursing and a
faculty associate at the ISR and ISR research professor Amiram Vinokur.
"Since the Gulf War, the role of women in combat has been a subject of
heated debate," said Pierce. "This study is the latest attempt to assess
the impact of deployment-related stressors, including family separation,
on military women, who now comprise 13 percent of our nation's armed
forces."
Nearly half of the women surveyed said that their home-life rarely or
never interfered with their work or made it difficult for them to
accomplish daily tasks and spend the time they would like to on
career-related activities.
But the researchers found that women who experienced higher levels of
family-work conflict were more likely to have symptoms of depression and
anxiety, and were also less likely to feel they could cope with daily
demands and responsibilities.
"We cannot hope to take away the stress of combat, but the additional
stress caused by family-work conflicts can be modified," said Pierce.
"Steps can be taken to reduce the anxiety and depression of servicewomen
who are worried about what is happening on the home front. In the near
future, we hope to identify some areas where we can intervene to help
reduce this source of stress."
A related study of Air Force men that is now underway will establish the
levels of wartime stress and of family-work conflict men are
experiencing, Pierce noted, as well as its relation to their mental
health and ability to perform their jobs.
In a similar U-M study of women serving during the 1991 Persian Gulf
War, Pierce and Vinokur found that the family-work conflict women
veterans experienced was greater than that found in representative
community samples of the time.
In other findings from the current survey presented at the APA
convention, Pierce and colleague Lisa Lewandowski reported that about 51
percent of the women surveyed said it was "very likely" or "extremely
likely" that they would continue to serve in the Air Force. About 18
percent said it was "likely" they would re-enlist.
According to Lewandowski, the perceived attitudes of the women's
significant others and their own views about the military were
significant predictors of their intentions to re-enlist.
"Despite the stress of serving in a long conflict where multiple
deployments are a very real possibility, the high proportion intending
to stay in the military suggests the level of commitment in today's
all-volunteer service," said Pierce.
Methodology and Demographics: The Defense Manpower Data Center provided
contact information for a random sample stratified by deployment to
theater of war, parental status and military component of 2,344 Air
Force women deployed at least one time since March 19, 2003 during
Operation Iraqi Freedom. The work-family study included analyses of
1,114 women who met inclusion criteria. These women participated in
telephone interviews and mailed questionnaires. Their mean age was 36
years; mean education was 14.7 years; 44.6 percent were married; 29.9
percent were never married; 22.7 percent divorced; the remainder were
separated or widowed; 35.9 percent had a dependent child during their
deployment; medium household income was $47,220; 74.2 percent were
enlisted: and 25.8 percent were officers. The retention study analyzed
data from a sample of 1,047 women. About 62 percent were deployed in a
theater of war.
Related URLs:
U-M Institute for Social Research:
http://www.isr.umich.edu
Women Veterans Project:
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/afwomen
U-M School of Nursing:
http://www.nursing.umich.edu/
Established in 1948, the University of Michigan Institute for Social
Research (ISR) is among the world's oldest academic survey research
organizations, and a world leader in the development and application of
social science methodology. ISR conducts some of the most widely cited
studies in the nation, including the Reuters/University of Michigan
Surveys of Consumers, the American National Election Studies, the
Monitoring the Future Study, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the
Health and Retirement Study, and the National Survey of Black Americans.
ISR researchers also collaborate with social scientists in more than 60
nations on the World Values Surveys and other projects, and the
institute has established formal ties with universities in Poland, China
and South Africa. ISR is also home to the Inter-University Consortium
for Political and Social Research, the world's largest computerized
social science data archive. Visit the ISR Web site at
www.isr.umich.edu for more
information.
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
