Perceived Threat During Deployment: Risk Factors and Relation to Axis I Disorders

This study sought to (a) examine the relation between perceived threat during deployment and the postdeployment presence of Axis I disorders and (b) identify developmental and deployment-related variables that predict level of threat perception during deployment. Participants were 1,740 Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans who completed the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory during a postdeployment screening at a large Veterans Affairs hospital. Greater perceived threat during deployment was significantly associated with the postdeployment presence of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders, but not substance use disorders. Perceived threat was also positively associated with the presence of comorbid Axis I diagnoses. Results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that, after controlling for combat exposure, deployment environment and deployment preparation significantly predicted perceived threat during deployment. These findings indicate that veterans' reports of perceived threat during deployment are associated with a wide variety of mental health disorders and suggest that efforts to increase deployment preparation and facilitate adjustment to the deployment environment have the potential to temper troops' threat appraisals.