Effects of exposure to pandemic-related stressors on anxiety and mood difficulty during versus before the COVID-19 pandemic in United States Army soldiers and veterans.

ABSTRACT: Military personnel are routinely involved in pandemic relief efforts, placing them at risk of increased exposure to pandemic-related stressors. Although ample research suggests exposure to pandemic-related stressors contributed to decrements in mental health among civilians during the COVID-19 pandemic, limited work has examined whether these patterns were also salient in military populations. The Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS) Longitudinal Study screened for 30-day prevalence of major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and panic attack among n=10,206 US Army soldiers and veterans before (2018-2019) and then again during (2020-2022) the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistically significant increases were found in pr

SUBMITTER: Kessler RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12490745 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature