Survey Shows Stress from Deployments

By: fedweek

The State Department says that results of a survey of foreign service officers who had been assigned to “unaccompanied tours”—that is, without family members, typically to hazardous postings—between 2002 and 2007 shows that 15 percent might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and another 2 percent probably are suffering from it. Of those polled, three-fourths had been in Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. In addition to suspected PTSD, there were “widespread indications of stress-related symptoms” among those surveyed, although the number and severity of symptoms decrease over time, an official told a House hearing. He said the department is continuing to study the results but in the meantime is working to improve its ability to support employees who may be experiencing PTSD or other mental health issues associated with high-stress assignments.