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Deployment stress, tobacco use, and postdeployment posttraumatic stress disorder: Gender differences
Sandra J Japuntich1, Kristin Gregor1, Suzanne L Pineles1
1National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System.
Psychological Trauma : Theory, Research, Practice and Policy
|December 15, 2015
Summary
Deployment stress increases tobacco use in Veterans, with gender-specific triggers. Continued tobacco use post-deployment is linked to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women, suggesting a coping mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Military Health
- Psychotraumatology
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Tobacco use and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur in Veterans.
- Research on female Veterans regarding these co-occurrences is limited.
- Increasing numbers of women are deployed to combat zones.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine gender-specific associations between deployment stress, tobacco use, and postdeployment PTSD symptoms.
- Investigate how different deployment stressors impact tobacco use initiation and escalation.
- Determine the relationship between continued tobacco use and PTSD in female Veterans.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 2,013 Veterans (50.9% female) deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
- Assessed tobacco use (pre-, during, and post-deployment), deployment stressors, and PTSD symptoms.
- Utilized a postdeployment, mailed survey methodology.
Main Results:
- Warfare stress linked to increased tobacco use in both genders during deployment.
- Harassment stress associated with tobacco use initiation/escalation in women only.
- Continued postdeployment tobacco use correlated with PTSD symptoms exclusively in women.
Conclusions:
- A dose-dependent relationship exists between deployment stress and tobacco use escalation.
- Gender-specific stressors influence tobacco use initiation and escalation.
- Continued tobacco use in women post-deployment may serve as a negative affect regulation strategy, highlighting the need for gender-tailored interventions.
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