Deployment-related quarantining-a risk or resilience factor for German military service members? A prospective analysis during the third-fifth waves of COVID-19

Mandatory deployment-related quarantining added further constraints on soldiers during the pandemic. Contrary to overwhelming research documenting an adverse impact of quarantining on mental health, no adverse short-term mental health effects of pre-deployment quarantining for German soldiers were identified. Therefore, we are interested in a potentially delayed onset, the impact of an additional post-deployment quarantine, and quarantine-associated risk and resilience factors predicting mental health post-deployment. In a prospective research design, 928 German soldiers enrolled in the study at the in-processing of pre-deployment quarantine between February 2021 and March 2022. Every German military service member undergoing pre-deployment quarantine could participate. The soldiers were between 18 and 64 years old; 87.5% identified as male and 12.5% as female. Self-reported mental health (Mini-SCL), perceived social support (FSozU-K22), and perceived unit cohesion were assessed three to five times: at the beginning and the end of pre-deployment quarantine ( = 928, = 907), if still mandatory-at the beginning and the end of post-deployment quarantine ( = 143 and = 132), and 3 months post-deployment, on average 7 to 8 months later than pre-deployment quarantine ( = 308). The analyzed quarantine-associated risk and resilience factors were informedness about COVID-19, infection risk, quarantine benefit, clarity of quarantine protocol, need for intimacy/bonding, norms, stigma, practicality, financial disadvantages, boredom, and health-promoting leadership. Despite four different mental health trajectories identified, repeated measures ANOVAs revealed a significant improvement in mental health post-deployment ( [2,265] = 21.54,