. 2012 Mar;102(Suppl 1):S66–S73. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300609

TABLE 4—

Service Branch Differences in Mental and Physical Health Status, Alcohol and Drug Use: United States, 2008–2009

	Army (n = 343), Mean (SD)	Air Force (n = 125), Mean (SD)	Marines (n = 27), Mean (SD)	Navy (n = 101), Mean (SD)	F	P
Mental/physical health
PTSS (PTSD checklist)^a	33.79 (14.76)	26.53 (12.67)	32.62 (14.48)	27.31 (10.01)	11.14	≤ .001
Depression/functioning (BASIS-24)^a ^b	0.99 (0.80)	0.71 (0.63)	1.18 (0.97)	0.93 (0.78)	6.26	≤ .001
Interpersonal relations (BASIS-24)^a ^b	1.22 (0.77)	0.90 (0.69)	1.41 (0.85)	1.16 (0.72)	8.47	≤ .001
Emotional lability (BASIS-24)^b ^c	1.71 (1.05)	1.31 (0.91)	1.32 (0.67)	1.40 (0.95)	7.65	≤ .001
Psychotic symptoms (BASIS-24)^b ^c	0.66 (0.87)	0.37 (0.67)	0.48 (0.62)	0.57 (0.86)	3.86	≤ .009
BASIS-24 overall score^a ^b	1.10 (0.68)	0.80 (0.59)	1.16 (0.71)	0.98 (0.65)	7.45	≤ .001
MCS (VR-12 mental health)^a ^d	40.44 (8.04)	42.60 (7.83)	39.53 (6.99)	39.35 (7.92)	4.03	≤ .007
PCS (VR-12 physical health)^d ^e	48.31 (9.89)	49.78 (10.07)	51.36 (9.33)	51.02 (7.98)	3.46	≤ .016
Alcohol/drug use
Alcohol use (AUDIT-C)^a ^f	4.48 (3.13)	2.96 (2.02)	3.93 (2.63)	3.44 (2.59)	9.76	≤ .001
Substance abuse (BASIS-24)^a ^b	0.59 (0.79)	0.21 (0.35)	0.54 (0.74)	0.27 (0.44)	12.50	≤ .001
Drug use (DAST)^a ^g	0.44 (0.83)	0.18 (0.45)	0.78 (1.18)	0.28 (0.47)	10.80	≤ .001

Note. AUDIT-C = Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; BASIS-24 = Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale; DAST = Drug Abuse Screening Test; MCS = Mental Component Score; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder; PTSS = posttraumatic stress symptoms; VR-12 = Veterans Rand-12.

^{^a}

Significant difference between Army and Marine and Air Force veterans.

^{^b}

BASIS-24 Scores range from 0–4; higher scores indicate greater symptom or problem severity or frequency.

^{^c}

Significant difference between Army and Air Force veterans.

^{^d}

MCS and PCS mean (SD) = 50 (10). Their ranges are unbounded. Higher scores indicate better mental health.

^{^e}

Significant difference between Marine and Navy and Army veterans.

^{^f}

AUDIT-C scores range from 0–12; higher scores indicate greater risk of alcohol abuse.

^{^g}

DAST-10 scores range from 0–10; higher scores indicate greater risk of drug abuse.