Does perpetrating violence damage mental health? Differences between forcibly recruited and voluntary combatants in...

As a consequence of the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), combatants are constantly involved in various forms of violence. Findings concerning the impact of perpetrating violence on mental health are contradictory, ranging from increasing to buffering the risk for mental ill health. The present study investigated the impact of perpetrating violence on mental health. In total, 204 forcibly recruited and voluntary male combatants (mean age = 24.61 years) from different armed groups in the eastern DRC took part in the study. In a semistructured interview, respondents were questioned about appetitive aggression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as self-experienced violence and self-perpetrated violent offending. A multivariate analysis of variance (η(2) = .23) revealed that voluntary combatants perpetrated more violent acts (η(2) = .06) and showed higher appetitive aggression η(2) = .03). A moderated multiple regression analysis (R(2) = .20) showed that perpetrating violence was positively related to PTSD in forcibly recruited combatants, but not in voluntary combatants. Thus, perpetrating violence may not necessarily qualify as a traumatic stressor. Further studies might consider assessing the combatant's perception of committing violent acts.