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Mental health of most UK troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq is ‘resilient’

February 27, 2014 by

Despite prolonged combat missions to Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been no overall increase in mental health problems among United Kingdom soldiers, finds a review of the available evidence. But certain groups of soldiers do seem to be more vulnerable to mental ill health on their return home, while alcohol problems continue to give cause for concern among regulars. The researchers focused on Iraq and Afghanistan because of the lengthy and challenging nature of the conflict experienced by British soldiers in these two countries, including protracted counter insurgency and repeated exposure to improvised explosive devices (IEDs), snipers, and suicide bombers. Their analysis, which draws on 34 studies, shows that, overall, most UK regulars returning from deployment have remained psychologically resilient, despite the adversities they faced.

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