Studies on mental health of servicemen who experienced a catastrophic event / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the influence of a catastrophic event to the mental health of servicemen,and to observe the effect of mental intervention and drug treatment for them after experiencing a catastrophic flood attack.Methods 57 servicemen survived a catastrophic flood attack were regarded as the disaster group,and 70 others who were not involved in the flood disaster were regarded as the control group.The service men of the two groups were subjected to investigation with Chinese Military Mental Health Scale(CMMHS),and corresponding mental intervention or medication was given to those who had experienced mental disorders.Results The disaster resulted in different degrees of somatic trauma and various mental disorders including instability of emotion,mental depression,grievance,nervous tension,sensation of fear,sleep disorder and apprehensions.The influential factor scores of CMMHS,including compulsive neurosis,anxiety,depression,fear,psychosis,somatization,interpersonal sensitiveness,and total score were much higher in disaster group than that in control group,and that of norm of Chinese servicemen,while the neurasthenia factor score in disaster group showed no significant difference with that in control group and that of normal Chinese servicemen.The main influential factors to changes in mental health of the servicemen were witness of someone washed away by the flood,and participation in identifying corpses.Conclusion The mental health of servicemen who experienced a catastrophic flood disaster was harmed in various degrees,and medication or mental intervention appeared to be of value.