BACKGROUND The PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) may be a suitable addition for routine outcome monitoring (ROM) for patients with PTSD AIM: To determine whether the PCL-5 is worth the extra effort that administration requires from the patient METHOD: Pretest and retest measurement results of the PCL-5 and the OQ-45 were compared head-to-head in 464 patients from the Sinai Center of Arkin RESULTS: The correlations between scores on the instruments were high and analysis of variance for repeated measurements revealed no difference in responsiveness Comparison of Cohen's d (049 vs 043) and Delta T (50 vs 44), indicated a slightly better responsiveness of the PCL-5 and also the proportion of recovered patients was greater according to the PCL-5 compared to the OQ-SD CONCLUSION: At first glance, the PCL-5 and the OQ-SD were equally sensitive to detect change during treatment However, the PCL-5 provided more detailed information about the nature and severity of symptomatology in an individual patient and with the PCL-5 we were slightly better able to demonstrate clinical significant change than with the OQ-SD We recommend to add the PCL-5 to ROM for patients with PTSD

De ptss Checklist voor dsm-5 (pcl-5) voor rom: Een vergelijking van de responsiviteit met de Outcome Questionnaire (oq-45) en praktische bruikbaarheid

BACKGROUND: Military culture and workplace are areas of interest for researchers across disciplines. However, few publications on military culture exist. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this article is to introduce general concepts regarding the structure and culture of the United States Military and discuss how this creates challenges for reintegrating into the civilian world. METHOD: Topics that will be covered in this article include an overview of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), socialization to military culture, the unique features of the military as a workplace, the cultural experiences of military personnel reintegrating back into the community, and the challenges faced by military members and their spouses. RESULTS:The provided information on military culture will expand military cultural competency so that civilian employers can enhance theirability tocreate supportive workplaces for veterans and militaryspouses during times oftransition and reintegration. DISCUSSION: The unique characteristics of the military culture should be understood by those who work with or plan to work with military populations.

/pdf/a-brief-introduction-to-the-military-workplace-culture-2wva1tm2sy.pdf

A brief introduction to the military workplace culture.

How are children's lives altered when a parent goes off to war? What aspects of combat deployment are most likely to put children at risk for psychological and other problems, and what resources for resilience can they tap to overcome such hardships and thrive? To answer these questions, Patricia Lester and Lieutenant Colonel Eric Flake first examine the deployment cycle, a multistage process that begins with a period of anxious preparation after a family receives notice that a parent will be sent into combat. Perhaps surprisingly, for many families, they write, the most stressful part of the deployment cycle is not the long months of separation that follow but the postdeployment period, when service members, having come home from war, must be reintegrated into families whose internal rhythms have changed and where children have taken on new roles. Lester and Flake then walk us through a range of theoretical perspectives that help us understand the interconnected environments in which military children live their lives, from the dynamics of the family system itself to the external contexts of the communities where they live and the military culture that helps form their identity. The authors conclude that policy makers can help military-connected children and their families cope with deployment by, among other things, strengthening community support services and adopting public health education measures that are designed to reduce the stigma of seeking treatment for psychological distress. They warn, however, that much recent research on military children's response to deployment is flawed in various ways, and they call for better-designed, longer-term studies as well as more rigorous evaluation of existing and future support programs.

/pdf/how-wartime-military-service-affects-children-and-families-oo452phoib.pdf

How wartime military service affects children and families.

http://ftpcontent5.worldnow.com/wncn/pdf/wellbeing.pdf

Well-being and suicidal ideation of secondary school students from military families

Being deployed to a war zone can result in numerous adverse psychological health conditions. It is well documented in the literature that there are high rates of psychological disorders among military personnel serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq as well as among the service members' families. For service members' families, the degree of hardship and negative consequences rises with the amount of the service members' exposure to traumatic or life-altering experiences. Adult and child members of the families of service members who experience wartime deployments have been found to be at increased risk for symptoms of psychological disorders and to be more likely to use mental health services.In an effort to provide early recognition and early intervention that meet the psychological health needs of service members and their families, DOD currently screens for many of these conditions at numerous points during the military life cycle, and it is implementing structural interventions that support the improved integration of military line personnel, non-medical caregivers, and clinicians, such as RESPECT-Mil (Re-engineering Systems of Primary Care Treatment in the Military), embedded mental health providers, and the Patient-Centered Medical Home. Preventing Psychological Disorders in Service Members and Their Families evaluates risk and protective factors in military and family populations and suggests that prevention strategies are needed at multiple levels - individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and societal - in order to address the influence that these factors have on psychological health. This report reviews and critiques reintegration programs and prevention strategies for PTSD, depression, recovery support, and prevention of substance abuse, suicide, and interpersonal violence.

Preventing Psychological Disorders in Service Members and Their Families: An Assessment of Programs

Substance Use Among Military-Connected Youth: The California Healthy Kids Survey

This article offers a new definition of military cultural competence based on a review of the literature. As a starting point, the defining characteristics of military culture is discussed and includes the chain of command, military norms, and military identity. Having laid this groundwork, the multidimensionality of military cultural competence—attitudinal, cognitive, behavior—is discussed. Clinical applications of these various competencies are provided.

Military Cultural Competence

Prevalence and correlates of victimization and weapon carrying among military- and nonmilitary-connected youth in Southern California.

Military children experience a variety of military-specific stressors. Stressors include repeated geographic relocation and parental separation, both of which can negatively affect social, emotional, psychological, and academic outcomes. Educational reform research, however, has found that caring and responsive schools can moderate the effects of psychological stress on the social and emotional outcomes of students. Lacking are studies that examine the transformative role of principals and other school administrators in providing school supports for military children. Hence, this study is guided by multiple objectives. This study examined the military-connected (MC) school administrators’ philosophy as it relates to military students, programmatic efforts for military students, and assessment of military social work interns. Data were collected using an online survey tool, and results suggest consensus among most MC school administrators regarding the unique needs of military students and the need for programs and resources that address these needs. This study found that many administrators struggle to provide adequate supports for military students.

Hazel R. Atuel

Papers

Well-being and suicidal ideation of secondary school students from military families

Substance Use Among Military-Connected Youth: The California Healthy Kids Survey

Military Cultural Competence

Prevalence and correlates of victimization and weapon carrying among military- and nonmilitary-connected youth in Southern California.

Responding to the Needs of Military Students and Military-connected Schools: Perceptions and Actions of School Administrators