Deployment Psychology Blog

Research Update: 21 August 2014

The CDP's weekly research update contains the latest news, journal articles and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:

  • Combat & Operational Stress Research Quarterly -- Summer 2014
  • The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in US combat soldiers: a head-to-head comparison of DSM-5 versus DSM-IV-TR symptom criteria with the PTSD checklist.
  • American Journal of Public Health: VA Health Equity Supplement

Staff Perspective: Technology and Relationships - Finding the Balance in an Electronic Life

More and more people are becoming aware of the impact of smartphones, tablets, and easy Internet access on our ability to think, maintain relationships, and remain productive.  It has even been proposed that overuse of technological media can change our brains structurally in ways that will, over time, rob us of the ability to think deeply and utilize our cognitive horsepower!  This is a controversial topic, and undoubtedly people will have varying opinions, but no one can argue that various forms of technology are changing how we interact with each other. So, how does this apply to mental health, and the military specifically?  Well, we know that healthy relationships contribute to good mental health, and conversely, troubled relationships create risk for mental health problems.  Perhaps some of today’s relationship woes and mental health problems are a by-product of our increasing use of technological gadgets.
To learn more about this possibility in a military context, I interviewed Lt. Col. Kirk Rowe, an Air Force neuropsychologist at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. 

By the Numbers - 18 August 2014

293%

The percentage increase in the number of prescriptions for any sleep medication between 1999 and 2010, from 5.3 million to 20.8 million, according to an article recently published in the journal Sleep -- Trends in Outpatient Visits for Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, and Prescriptions for Sleep Medications among US Adults: Findings from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 1999-2010.

CDP News: 15 August 2014

Welcome to this week’s edition of CDP News! We like to use this space to review recent happenings in and around the Center for Deployment Psychology, while also looking ahead to upcoming events. We’re in the home stretch of summer, as we head into the second half of August, we’ve still got plenty to do!

Research Update: 14 August 2014

The CDP's weekly research update contains the latest news, journal articles and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include: 

  • Symptoms of Psychological Distress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in United States Air Force "Drone" Operators.
  • Postconcussive Symptom Report in Polytrauma: Influence of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychiatric Distress.
  • Chasing the Care: Soldiers Experience Following Combat-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

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