Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Iraq, Afghan wars wreaking toll on troops' mental health

Iraq, Afghan wars wreaking toll on troops' mental health Thu Aug 2, 1:56
PM ET
 
PARIS (AFP) - British and US troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq face
rising pressures on their mental health and family life, according to two
investigations that shed light on a key aspect of military "overstretch". 
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Doctors at King's College London assessed regular British military
personnel, asking them to fill an anonymous questionnaire about their
general health, alcohol use, problems at home and symptoms relating to
psychological distress or post-combat stress.
Of the 8,686 regular personnel who were randomly selected, 5,547 replied,
from all branches -- the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air
Force (RAF). All had had experience of deployment in the previous three
years.
Reporting in next Saturday's British Medical Journal (BMJ), the
researchers say they found a clear link between mental health problems and
the duration of deployment.
Those who served longer than the military's guidelines of a maximum
13-month deployment over a three-year period were 55 percent more likely
to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder compared to those deployed for
shorter periods.
This problem increased if the deployment turned out to be unexpectedly
long -- a finding that mirrored a previous survey of US troops in Iraq,
which discovered that an uncertain date for returning home increased
psychological distress.
The British study also found a "significant" link between deployment
duration and severe alcohol abuse, which increased if the individual had
been exposed to combat.
However, there was no association between the duration of deployment and
any decision to leave the military.
The authors, led by public health professor Roberto Rona, say the British
military can help reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress by setting down
a "clear and explicit policy" on the duration of each deployment.
Meanwhile, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports
in its latest issue that children of US soldiers experience far higher
rates of abuse when their father is deployed on a combat mission.
Deborah Gibbs, a researcher with RTI International of North Carolina, and
colleagues looked into the cases of 1,771 families of enlisted US troops
where there had been documented cases of child abuse, a term that covers
physical or emotional maltreatment and neglect.
The rate of maltreatment during soldier deployment was 42 percent higher
than when soldiers were not deployed. The rate of child neglect by
civilian wives was especially high when their husbands were deployed,
being almost quadruple that of other times.
Britain and the United States are struggling to cope with so-called
overstretch of their armed forces.
Two major conflicts taking place simultaneously are placing exceptional
demands on their land forces in particular, causing commanders to extend
the duration of missions and reduce time between deployments.
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*.sergio.* :

تجددت المعارك اليوم بين الجيش اللبناني ومسلحي فتح الإسلام في مخيم نهر
البارد شمال لبنان حيث تدور اشتباكات عنيفة بين الطرفين في رقعة محدودة من
الأرض جنوب المخيم. وقد أعلنت المفوضية الأوروبية تخصيص أربعة ملايين يورو
للنازحين من المخيم.
-- 
R.