Impact of veteran ‐led peer mentorship on posttraumatic stress disorder

AbstractPeer mentorship shows promise as a strategy to support veteran mental health. A community –academic partnership involving a veteran-led nonprofit organization and institutions of higher education evaluated a collaboratively developed peer mentor intervention. We assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), postdeployment experiences, social functioning, and psychological strengths at baseline, midpoint, and 12-week discharge using the PTSD Checklist forDSM-5 (PCL-5), Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory –2, Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale, and Values in Action Survey. Brief weekly check-in surveys reinforced mentor contact and assessed retention. The sample included 307 veterans who were served by 17 veteran peer mentors. Mixed-effects linear models found a modest effect for PTSD symptom change, with a mean PCL-5 score reduction of 4.04 points, 95% CI [−6.44, −1.64],d = 0.44. More symptomatic veterans showed a larger effect, with average reductions of 9.03 points, 95% CI [-12.11, -5.95],d = 0.77. There were no significant findings for other outcome variables. Compared to younger veterans, those aged 32 –57 years were less likely to drop out by 6 weeks, aORs = 0.32 –0.26. Week-by-week hazard of drop-out was lower with mentors ≥ 35 years old, aHR = 0.62, 95% CI [0.37, 1.05]. Unadjusted survival differed by mentor military branch,p =  .028, but the small mentor sample reduced interpretability. Like many community research efforts, this study ...
Source: Journal of Traumatic Stress - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research