To What Extent Is Psychological Resilience Protective Or Ameliorative: Exploring The Effects Of Deployment On The Mental Health Of Combat Medics

Exposure to a major traumatic stressor increases the odds of negative mental health and maladaptive behavioral outcomes not only for victims but also for 1st responders and health care professionals who are exposed to the aftermath. This study investigates the extent to which psychological resilience acts as either a Protective (i.e., vaccine-like) or an Ameliorative (i.e., antibiotic-like) factor to reduce the deleterious mental health outcomes associated with exposure to a major stressor. To do so, this pilot study focused on the understudied population of military combat medics, who are exposed to both stressors associated with direct combat and with providing intense battlefield trauma care. Military combat medics who were identified as having deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan shortly after baseline measurements of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and aggressive behavioral tendencies and returned from deployment prior to the follow-up assessment (protective model) were compared to those who returned from deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan shortly before the baseline measurements and were not deployed again prior to the follow-up assessments (ameliorative model). Data were collected on combat experiences to equate the stressor for these 2 samples, and a propensity score matching technique was used to ensure that the 2 samples were similar. The findings provide support for both the protective and the ameliorative models of psychological resilience. Results are discussed in terms of the potential benefits of resilience in mental health programs.