Mental Health in Slovenian Armed Forces

Težave v duševnem zdravju predstavljajo pereč globalni in ekonomski problem, saj breme duševnih motenj iz dneva v dan narašča. Duševno zdravje je kompleksen pojav in zajema preplet raznolikih indikatorjev, varovalnih dejavnikov in dejavnikov tveganja, zato so tudi rezultati raziskav velikokrat neskladni ali kulturno pogojeni. Vojaško osebje je ena izmed specifičnih populacij, ki je na slovenskih tleh do sedaj bila pomanjkljivo preučevana, ko govorimo o duševnem zdravju. Namen magistrskega dela je bil pridobiti vpogled v duševno zdravje zaposlenih v Slovenski vojski ter preučiti stres, anksioznost, depresijo, posttravmatsko stresno motnjo, neprimerno rabo alkohola in socialno podporo ter povezave med konstrukti na vzorcu vojaškega osebja. K sodelovanju v raziskavi so bili povabljeni zaposleni v Slovenski vojski. Vzorec zajema 180 zaposlenih. Oblikovali smo baterijo vprašalnikov, ki je v uvodnem delu zajemala sociodemografske podatke. Za merjenje konstruktov smo uporabili vprašalnik za samoocenjevanje rabe alkohola CAGE, vprašalnik o rabi alkohola AUDIT-10, lestvico depresivnosti, anksioznosti in stresa DASS-21, vprašalnik simptomatike posttravmatske stresne motnje ter lestvico zaznane socialne podpore SOS. Statistično analizo smo opravili v programu SPSS IBM Statistics 22.0. Udeleženci ne kažejo težav v duševnem zdravju, saj se rezultati izmerjenih konstruktov gibljejo v rangu splošno sprejete normalnosti. Potrdili smo medsebojno povezanost med konstrukti. Nismo potrdili razlik med spoloma in razlik med posamezniki, ki se misije niso nikoli udeležili, in tistimi, ki so se misije udeležili enkrat ali večkrat. Ugotovili smo, da s spremenljivkami stres, anksioznost, depresija, zaznana socialna podpora in neprimerna raba alkohola pojasnimo manjši del variabilnosti posttravmatske stresne motnje, skoraj najboljši rezultat pa lahko dosežemo že samo s spremenljivko stres. Z raziskavo smo omogočili delni pregled trenutnega stanja na področju duševnega zdravja in raziskovanja na vojaškem področju v Sloveniji, prav tako pa postavitev temeljev in izhodišča za prihodnje študije.Mental health problems are a serious global and economic problem, since the burden of mental disorders is increasing every day. Mental health is a complex phenomenon that covers an interlacement of diverse indicators, protective factors and risk factorstherefore, the research results are often inconsistent or culturally conditioned. When it comes to mental health, Slovenian military personnel is one of the specific populations that was insufficiently studied. The purpose of this master\u27s thesis is to give an insight into mental health of Slovenian Armed Forces employees and to study stress, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, social support and links between the constructs on a sample of military personnel. Slovenian Armed Forces employees were invited to participate in the survey. The sample comprises 180 employees. A questionnaire battery was created including socio-demographic data in the introductory part. For measuring constructs a questionnaire for self-assessment of alcohol abuse CAGE, a questionnaire on the use of alcohol AUDIT-10, a scale of depression, anxiety and stress DASS-21, a questionnaire for symptomatic post-traumatic stress disorder and a scale of perceived social support SOS were used. The statistical analysis was carried out with the program SPSS IBM Statistics 22.0. The participants do not show mental health problems, as the results of the measured constructs stay in the range of generally accepted normality. The interconnection between the constructs was confirmed. However, gender differences and the differences between individuals who have never been on a mission and individuals who were on a mission at least once were not confirmed. It was established that a smaller part of the post-traumatic stress disorder variability can be explained by the variables of stress, anxiety, depression, perceived social support and alcohol abusehowever, almost the best result can be achieved already with the sole stress variable. The study provides a partial overview of the current state in the field of mental health and research in the area of Slovenian military as well as laying the foundations and starting point for the future studies