How Does Mental Health Change During Early Military Service?

What you need to know

• Most military members adjust well mentally during their early service years, but a significant minority experience mental health difficulties
• Mental health problems can emerge very early in a military career, even before deployment
• Modifiable factors like coping styles, social support, and sleep quality strongly influence mental health trajectories

Understanding Mental Health Patterns in Early Military Service

The transition into military life represents a unique period of significant change. New service members must adapt to military culture, move away from established support networks, comply with military protocols and values, and adjust their daily routines including sleep patterns. While most people handle this transition well, some experience mental health challenges.

This groundbreaking study followed over 5,000 Australian military members during their first 3-4 years of service to understand how their mental health changed over time and what factors influenced these changes.

Key Mental Health Trajectories

The researchers identified several distinct patterns in how people’s mental health evolved:

For general psychological distress:

• Resilient (84%) - Consistently good mental health
• Worsening (9.6%) - Mental health declined over time
• Recovery (6.5%) - Initial struggles that improved

For post-traumatic stress symptoms:

• Resilient (82.5%) - Consistently low symptoms
• Worsening (5.8%) - Symptoms increased over time
• Recovery (9.6%) - Initial high symptoms that decreased
• Chronic subthreshold (2.3%) - Ongoing moderate symptoms

Factors That Influence Mental Health Trajectories

Protective Factors

Several characteristics were associated with better mental health outcomes:

• Being male
• Strong social support from family, friends and military peers
• Adaptive coping strategies like:
  • Acceptance - acknowledging situations that can’t be changed
  • Reappraisal - finding new perspectives on challenges

Risk Factors

The study identified several modifiable factors associated with poorer mental health:

• Maladaptive coping strategies:
  • Self-blame
  • Avoidance
  • Risk-taking behaviors
• Poor sleep quality
• Higher levels of anger
• Limited social support
• Prior exposure to traumatic events
• Negative social interactions with peers or superiors

Practical Applications

These findings have important implications for supporting military personnel:

For Military Organizations

• Screen for mental health risk factors early in service
• Provide training in adaptive coping strategies
• Promote positive leadership and peer relationships
• Address sleep problems proactively
• Offer anger management resources when needed

For Service Members

• Actively maintain social connections with family and friends
• Learn and practice healthy coping strategies
• Seek help early for sleep difficulties
• Build supportive relationships within your unit
• Don’t wait to get help if you’re struggling

For Healthcare Providers

• Screen for maladaptive coping styles
• Assess sleep quality and anger levels
• Help strengthen social support networks
• Teach adaptive coping strategies
• Consider both psychological distress and trauma symptoms

Conclusions

• Mental health problems can emerge early in military service, before deployment
• Most modifiable risk factors can be addressed through training and support
• Early intervention targeting specific risk factors could prevent mental health deterioration
• Building resilience through social support and adaptive coping is crucial