Civil background variables significant to the development of psychiatric disorders during military service

The author served as a military psychiatrist for one year. In this article, he presents material from a personally conducted examination of soldiers with psychiatric disorders. He has also collected material on two control groups of soldiers. He has also processed patient material collected by other military psychiatrists. Both patient groups are compared with the two control groups concerning various civilian background factors. The study shows that the patients differ from the controls regarding a number of negative factors in their civilian background. These factors can be seen as predisposing to the development of psychiatric disorders while in the Military. The author concludes that these factors ought to be identified at the conscription examination, which is at present inadequate from a psychiatric viewpoint. An effort should be made at conscription to construct a profile of the individual's adaptability. The possibility of the development of a psychiatric disorder could thus be better evaluated.