TY  - JOUR
AU  - Shen,Yu-Chu
AU  - Arkes,Jeremy
AU  - Kwan,Boon Wah
AU  - Tan,Lai Yee
AU  - Williams,Thomas V.
TI  - The Effect of OEF/OIF Deployment Intensity on the Rate of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Active Duty Population
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15203
PY  - 2009
Y2  - August 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15203
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15203.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Yu-Chu Shen
Graduate School of Business and Public Policy
Naval Postgraduate School
555 Dyer Road
Monterey, CA 93943
Tel: 831/656-2951
E-Mail: yshen@nps.edu

Jeremy Arkes
Graduate School of Business and Public Policy
Naval Postgraduate School
555 Dyer St
Monterey, CA 93943
Rand Corporation
1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
E-Mail: jaarkes@nps.edu

Boon Wah Kwan
Naval Postgraduate School
555 Dyer Road, Monterey CA 93943
E-Mail: bw_kwan@yahoo.com

Lai Yee Tan
Naval Postgraduate School
555 Dyer Road, Monterey CA 93943
E-Mail: irenetanly@hotmail.com

Thomas V. Williams
TRICARE 
5111 Leesburg Pike, Suite 810
Falls Church, VA 22041-3238
E-Mail: thomas.williams@tma.osd.mil
AB  - This study estimates the effect of deployment location and length on the risk of developing PTSD, relative to what it would be from the normal military operations. We use a random sample of activity-duty enlisted personnel serving between 2001 and 2006.  We identify PTSD cases from TRICARE medical records and link deployment information from Contingent Tracking System. Comparing to those in other duties around the world, deployment to Iraq/Afghanistan increases the odds of developing PTSD substantially, with the largest effect observed for the Navy (OR=9.06, p<0.01) and the smallest effect for the Air Force (OR=1.25, p<0.01).  A deployment longer than 180 days increases the odds of PTSD by 1.11 times to 2.84 times, depending on the service, compared to a tour under 120 days. For Army and Navy, a deployment to Iraq/Afghanistan further exacerbates the adverse effect of tour length. Our research identifies the extent of PTSD across services and quantifies the risks associated with OEF/OIF deployment intensity.  Further research is needed for effective monitoring and preventive measures of PTSD on the active duty population.
ER  -