[Subjective ratings of conditions and methods of combat stress reduction by combatants]

An aim of the study was to find stress reduction methods preferred by combatants. One hundred and nineteen servicemen who do contract military service in the North Caucasus were questioned. More than a half of them named the support of colleges in arms. The awareness of importance of their aid was correlated with the duration and intensity of experiencing combat stress. Every fifth combatant chose individual combat experience out of all methods. The longer was duration of service in a combat zone, the more increased the subjective significance of personal experience. More than a third of combatants considered alcohol and drugs as effective means for stress reduction. Veterans, who iteratively did military service in military zones and had been wounded, and direct participants of combats named these means even more often. Among those examinees who noted alcohol as an effective mean for stress reduction, 26.6% noted also drugs and 20%--sedatives. The author suggests that the interest of combatants in alcohol and any drug that has an effect on the mental state indicates the higher risk of taking other psychoactive drugs.