These findings suggest that among active duty military personnel seeking treatment for PTSD, personal resources (social support, unit cohesion, and trait resilience) may mitigate PTSD severity by reducing negative posttraumatic cognitions.

No abstract

Sexual revictimization is heightened among military service members and veterans and is associated with greater posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and severity. The heightened distress following revictimization may be due to posttraumatic cognitions (PTC), which include negative beliefs about the self and world, and self-blame. Moreover, it is unclear whether men and women experience different levels of PTC. The current study tested PTC (overall and subdomains) as a possible mediator between sexual revictimization and PTSS severity, and gender as a possible moderator of these associations. Revictimization was defined across time periods (military sexual assault [MSA] only vs. premilitary sexual trauma + MSA) and in military rape frequency (0, 1, 2+). Participants were 400 ( n = 200 [50%] male) service members/veterans with a history of MSA and completed online, anonymous, self-report questionnaires. PTC mediated the association between revictimization and PTSS severity. A significant interaction of gender suggested that men reported high overall PTC and PTC about the self regardless of revictimization; by contrast, overall PTC and PTC about the self were lower for women in response to MSA only and increased with revictimization. Results also showed men were more sensitive to PTC about self-blame as it pertains to more severe PTSS compared to women. There were no unique gender interactions when assessing revictimization by rape frequency, although PTC (overall, all subdomains) significantly mediated the association between rape frequency and PTSS severity. PTC may be a beneficial target when treating PTSS in men, and may be especially heightened in women who have experienced revictimization.

Suicide rates continue to increase among service members/veterans. Military sexual harassment/assault (MSH/A) may increase risk of suicide, but little is known about the collective magnitude of associations between MSH/A and suicide outcomes, including ideation, plan, attempt, and mortality. The current meta-analysis addressed this literature gap while testing potential moderators of gender, marital status, discharge status, and military branch. PsycINFO, PubMed, Dissertations/Theses, relevant citation lists, and conference brochures were reviewed for papers that included quantitative analyses in English, U.S. military samples, and measures of MSH/A and suicide ideation/plan/attempt/mortality. The search resulted in 22 studies ( N = 10,898,875) measuring the association of MSH/A with suicide ideation ( k = 15), plans ( k = 1), attempts ( k = 14), and mortality ( k = 2), with papers published from 2007–2021. MSH/A was associated with suicide ideation ([Formula: see text] = .14) and attempts ([Formula: see text] = .11, ps < .05). The association of MSH/A and suicide ideation and attempts was higher among women relative to men, those identifying as married versus not married, those actively serving compared to discharged, and those reporting service in the Air Force relative to all other branches. The association of MSH/A with suicide plans and mortality was not calculated due to the small number of studies reporting those effect sizes ( ks = 1–2). The effect sizes observed suggest MSH/A is part of a larger network of risk factors for suicide. Moderators indicate that suicide risk is higher among specific groups, and prevention strategies would be most effective if they targeted these individuals. This research area would be strengthened by additional studies of plans and mortality.