Military combat, mental health, and crime: A preliminary test of a general strain theory model

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that military combat experience can shape later mental health in a negative fashion and increase subsequent antisocial behaviors. Limited research to date has attempted to explore if military combat experience is related to antisocial behaviors because it increases the likelihood of negative mental health states. Using general strain theory (GST) as a guide, the current study offers a preliminary test of how military combat experience, negative mental health, with a focus on depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and antisocial behavior, with a focus on criminal behavior, might relate together in a single theoretically informed model. Results from the Add Health sample suggest that military combat experience correlates with depressive symptoms, PTSD, and crime. Further, results suggest that PTSD, but not depressive symptoms, could potentially act as a mediator between military combat experience and subsequent criminal behavior. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Military combat
• mental health
• PTSD
• crime
• general strain theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. If any one of the 11 items is removed, the value of Chronbach’s alpha is reduced.

2. These variables, and the guidance on how to appropriately use them, are provided by Add Health. Specifically, Add Health respondents have an individual weighting variable, a cluster variable based on their school, and a stratification variable based on their census region. These variables are meant to account for the unequal probability of selection in the Add Health sample, and correct coefficients such that results from analyses are generalizable to the entire target population.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen J. Watts

Stephen J. Watts, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Memphis. His research focuses on the testing of criminological theories, and the integration of traditional criminological theories into a biopsychosocial framework.

Lauren E. Wright

Lauren E. Wright, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Political Science at Tennessee Tech University. Her research interests include the intersection between media and crime, sex-related crimes, and race and crime.