Study: 1 in 4 Army soldiers had mental illnesses before enlisting

[The Straight Story]

More than a quarter of U.S. soldiers met the criteria to be diagnosed with some of the most common mental disorders – depression, panic disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – prior to enlisting in the Army, and more than eight percent considered killing themselves at one time or another, according to a series of studies published in JAMA Psychiatry on Monday.

The reports come amid growing concern over high suicide rates among members of the U.S. armed forces.

The studies state that those who are most at risk of attempting suicide, 1 in 10 of those surveyed and interviewed, also have a history of impulsive anger, a condition known as "intermittent explosive disorder." That is more than five times the rate found in the civilian population, according to the reports.

A combination of this impulsive behavior, stress developed as a result of deployment and other mood disorders increase the potential for a soldier to act on their suicidal thoughts. Intermittent explosive disorder is the most common disorder among Army personnel and the second most common in the general population, coming in behind general "phobias," experts say.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/4/1-in-4-had-mentalillnessbeforeenlistinginarmy.html

[former9thward]

1. Just a few hours ago it was "almost 1 in 5"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014744808

Now it is "More than a quarter" . I suspect in another day it will be up to 90%.

[Warren Stupidity]

2. Has it gotten that much worse in one day?

[jmowreader]

3. Why this happens

http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd2807-2.pdf

This is Department of Defense Form 2807-2, which is the military's equivalent of the health history form you fill out at a civilian doctor. Line 16 is the only one that covers mental issues:

(16) Seen a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, counselor or other professional for any reason (inpatient or outpatient) including counseling or treatment for school, adjustment, family, marriage or any other problem, to include depression, or treatment for alcohol, drug or substance abuse.

By way of comparison, your eyes get seven different questions.

Because they only care if you've been under mental health care, and because there's not enough time to perform a psych eval until we get the guy into the field and he shows signs of needing one, a troop could enlist carrying full-blown psychopathy.

[JJChambers]

4. If ADHD is considered "mental illness" in this study, concerned about the about the army I'm not

[morningfog]

5. ADHD is a mental illness. Look it up in theDSM.

It's symptoms include lack if focus, impulsivity and more. These are not attributes we want in a soldier. Nor is ADHD the only mental illness found in the study.

[JJChambers]

6. That's silly

If we are going to start screening out soldiers due to ADHD and other minor disorders, we need to also screen out soldiers who fall into another category: human.

Is this a backward way to draw support for a drone robot army?

[morningfog]

7. It is a factual way to expose the military's reliance on the most vulnerable.

The poor and those with mental illnesses. The military preys on these populations.

We should not be so flippant with who is recruited and who enlists. Just look at the suicide and addiction rates of soldiers and veterans. It is a point of shame of our nation what we do to this population.

We should not be sending people suffering from mental illnesses into the military and combat. We should not be recruiting predominately poor individuals. We should get off our permanent war footing and reduce our force size.