WAR & Military Mental Health: The US Psychiatric Response in the 20th Century
Involvement in warfare can have dramatic consequences for the mental health and well-being of military personnel. During the 20th century, US military psychiatrists tried to deal with these consequences while contributing to the military goal of preserving manpower and reducing the debilitating impa...
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Published in | American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 97; no. 12; pp. 2132 - 2142 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Am Public Health Assoc
01.12.2007
American Public Health Association |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Involvement in warfare can have dramatic consequences for the mental health and well-being of military personnel. During the 20th century, US military psychiatrists tried to deal with these consequences while contributing to the military goal of preserving manpower and reducing the debilitating impact of psychiatric syndromes by implementing screening programs to detect factors that predispose individuals to mental disorders, providing early intervention strategies for acute war-related syndromes, and treating long-term psychiatric disability after deployment. The success of screening has proven disappointing, the effects of treatment near the front lines are unclear, and the results of treatment for chronic postwar syndromes are mixed. After the Persian Gulf War, a number of military physicians made innovative proposals for a population-based approach, anchored in primary care instead of specialty-based care. This approach appears to hold the most promise for the future. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 Peer Reviewed Contributors Both authors conceptualized ideas, interpreted historical developments, and reviewed drafts of the article equally. Requests for reprints should be sent to Hans Pols, Unit for History and Philosophy of Science, Carslaw F07, University of Sydney NSW 2006, Australia (e-mail: h.pols@usyd.edu.au). |
ISSN: | 0090-0036 1541-0048 1541-0048 |
DOI: | 10.2105/AJPH.2006.090910 |