Duncan's Military Mental Health Research Published by Military Medicine

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Three of the paper's authors, from left, Kayla Reed-Fitzke, Anthony Ferraro and James Duncan from U of A's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The results of a research project on mental health care for U.S. military personnel suggests preventive steps prior to life-changing adulthood events could be as equally important as intervention measures.

"Identifying Risk and Resilience Factors Associated with the Likelihood of Seeking Mental Health Care Among U.S. Army Soldiers-in-Training," co-authored by James Duncan, instructor in U of A's human development and family sciences program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, has been published by Military Medicine.

Many studies examine military populations and well-being following issues such as returning from combat deployment while this project looked at identifying indicators of ill-being and well-being before anyone has been in their military career long enough to experience major life changes such as job relocation or deployment.

"What our study found was that for some soldiers, like myself, who have been through hardships before military service, such as adverse childhood experiences, that those experiences may influence our functioning well into adulthood, possibly creating stigma beliefs," said Duncan. "For example, I dealt with the adverse childhood experience of parental-absence, which may have influenced my perceptions of handling issues on my own from an early age because I did not feel I had others I could rely on growing up."  

Other findings show:

• Few soldiers-in-training are likely to seek help when experiencing problems.
• Encouraging soldiers-in-training to seek help is needed for sub-groups such as men and anyone with adverse childhood experiences.

Duncan served in the U.S. Air Force with two tours in Iraq before being honorably discharged. His research focuses on military-related stressors to identify novel approaches for positive outcomes for service members, veterans and their families.

"This research is important to me because of my personal experiences," said Duncan. "When I was deployed to Iraq in 2007, I ended up receiving a Purple Heart and Army Combat Action Badge due to being hit by an improvised explosive device while engaging in transportation supply movements as a Lead Vehicle Commander. Following this event, I dealt with several physical and mental health issues, and initially was very reluctant to receive appropriate care from others due to stigma."

The researchers gathered information from a large sample of soldiers-in-training from The Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) to identify early intervention or prevention opportunities prior to entering stressful military operating environments.

"Our study highlights how practitioners and helping professionals may be able to provide more preventative efforts to new recruits based on identifying pre-existing characteristics," said Duncan. "This way when a servicemember does actually experience a life-changing adulthood event, like the one I experienced, they may be better equipped to acknowledge and/or accept that they need help in responding to the event." 

Duncan earned his bachelor's degree in human development and family sciences and his master's degree in human environmental sciences in Bumpers College's School of Human Environmental Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in human development and family sciences at Florida State University.

The other co-authors are Kayla Reed-Fitzke, Armeda Wojciak, Kevin Smith and Jennifer Sanchez of the University of Iowa, and Anthony Ferraro of Kansas State University.

Military Medicine is the official international journal of AMSUS, the Society of Federal Health Professionals. AMSUS serves the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and federal health professionals.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 3 percent of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.