Mental health of Dutch Peacekeeping Veterans 10–25 years after deployment

Abstract Objective This report describes the mental health of Dutch peacekeeping veterans, 10--25 years after deployment, and its association with deployment-related traumatic events. Method We randomly selected a group of 1046 peacekeeping veterans, who participated in military missions in Lebanon, former Yugoslavia, and various other missions between 1979 and 1997. We sent a questionnaire assessing current levels of psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory -- BSI), and a questionnaire assessing trauma related to deployment. Results Psychological data were available for 729 veterans. In 83% of the veterans, no significant psychological distress was found, whereas 17% scored above the BSI cut-off for psychopathology. Interestingly, this percentage was equal to that in a non-patient norm group. Conclusion From this finding we concluded that 10--25 years post-deployment, Dutch peacekeeping veterans do not show more psychological distress than the general Dutch population. In addition, we did not find a significant association between trauma exposure 10--25 years ago and current BSI scores. Moreover, trauma-exposure explained only 9% of the variance in psychological distress. Thus, although military peacekeeping operations may have a strong impact on the lives of soldiers, in this group of veterans they do not seem to have caused severe psychological distress10--25 years after deployment.