Latest research carried out at King's College in London has found that British troops on peace-keeping missions experience less post-traumatic stress than soldiers from other countries doing similar work. Researchers examined peacekeeping operations dating back to 1991, including missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, the Arabian Gulf and Cyprus.
The study, carried out by experts at the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health , found that 5% of UK personnel reported symptoms compared with 15% of troops from other Western countries. Among the findings were:-
- UK officers and married personnel were the least likely to suffer PTSD symptoms.
- Gender, age or deployment status did not influence the incidence of PTSD.
- Those who had left the military were more likely to suffer from PTSD than those who had remained in it.
This is not the first study to find that British servicemen and women seem to have a higher resistance to PTSD. Ministry of Defence figures published last month showed that 5 in 1,000 UK troops were identified as suffering from PTSD compared with 83 per 1,000 amongst US soldiers.
It is thought that British Army culture may explain the differences. Army traditions, esprit de corps, high morale, professionalism and comradeship combined with comprehensive training provide British troops with a stronger resilience to the stress experienced in warzones.
However despite this, Combat Stress, the charity set up to help veterans suffering from PTSD, continues to report an increasing number of people coming to them for help.
Link> Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine: Getting a peace of the action: measures of post traumatic stress in UK military peacekeepers
Link> BBC: UK peace troops 'less stressed'
Link> PTSD in UK Armed Forces remains low
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