An exploratory domain analysis of deployment risks and protective features and their association to mental health, cognitive functioning and job performance in military personnel
Abstract
Background: Meta-analyses of military deployment involve the exploration of focused associations between predictors and peri and post-deployment outcomes.Objective: We aimed to provide a large-scale and high-level perspective of deployment-related predictors across eight peri and post-deployment outcomes.Design: Articles reporting effect sizes for associations between deployment-related features and indices of peri and post-deployment outcomes were selected. Three-hundred and fourteen studies (N = 2,045,067) and 1,893 relevant effects were retained. Deployment features were categorized into themes, mapped across outcomes, and integrated into a big-data visualization.Methods: Studies of military personnel with deployment experience were included. Extracted studies investigated eight possible outcomes reflecting functioning (e.g., post-traumatic stress, burnout). To allow comparability, effects were transformed into a Fisher’s Z. Moderation analyses investigating methodological features were performed.Results: The strongest correlates across outcomes were emotional (e.g., guilt/shame: Z = 0.59 to 1.21) and cognitive processes (e.g., negative appraisals: Z = −0.54 to 0.26), adequate sleep on deployment (Z = −0.28 to – 0.61), motivation (Z = −0.33 to – 0.71), and use of various coping strategies/recovery strategies (Z = −0.25 to – 0.59).Conclusions: Findings pointed to interventions that target coping and recovery strategies, and the monitoring of emotional states and cognitive processes post-deployment that may indicate early risk.
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Adequate and restoring sleep is causally related to a favorable post-deployment process.
“Crane et al. (71) investigated the professional and private re-integration of military personnel after their military deployment and identified adequate and restoring sleep as a key variable causally related to a favorable post-deployment process.”
Lower shame, guilt, negative cognitive appraisal, and higher motivation to deploy predict a favorable post-deployment outcome.
“Further factors conferring to a more successful post-deployment process were: Lower scores for shame, guilt, and negative cognitive appraisal, along with a higher motivation to deploy successfully predicted a favorable outcome in the post-deployment phase.”
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- Authors
- Crane, M. F., Hazel, G., Kunzelmann, A., Kho, M., Gucciardi, D. F., Rigotti, T., Kalisch, R., & Karin, E.
- Affiliations
- Macquarie University (AU)
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- Curtin University (AU)
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Crane, M. F.
- Venue
- Anxiety, Stress, & Coping
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2023-06-28
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 16-28
- ISSN
- 1061-5806 (ISSN-L)
- 1477-2205
- OpenAlex
- W4382395002
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4
- FWCI
- 2.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Anxiety Stress & Coping (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- The Human Performance Research Network (ID9040)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Performance
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Keywords
- military deployment, protective factors, mental health, cognitive function, employee performance, post-traumatic stress, burnout, guilt and shame, negative appraisals, motivation, coping strategies, recovery strategies, emotional state, military personnel
- MeSH terms
- Work Performance, Cognition, Humans, Mental Health, Military Personnel, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
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