Objective: Rates of behavioral health disorders and potential protective factors in U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) have not been well studied, including differences between Operators and Support personnel, despite very high levels of combat exposure in these military personnel. The present study examined the prevalence of endorsed behavioral health problems and protective factors within a large sample of SOF personnel.

Method: Anonymized data from 16,284 active duty SOF Service members from the 2016 Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) needs survey were analyzed.

Results: Overall, the prevalence of PTSD (7.6%), depression (8.4%), alcohol misuse (12.8%), and nicotine use (28%) were comparable or lower than reported in conventional military populations. There were significant differences between Operators and Support personnel in a number of demographic and service-related variables. Operators also endorsed more direct combat exposure and scored higher on resilience and social support, and reported better quality and quantity of sleep. There were no significant group differences in rates of PTSD and depression, except lower odds (adjusted OR = 0.81) for alcohol problems in Support personnel (11.6%) compared to Operators (14.0%), p <.001, 95% CI [0.72, 0.91].

Conclusions: SOF personnel experience considerably higher exposure to combat deployments than conventional forces, yet the data from this study showed comparable or lower levels of behavioral health conditions. Although Operators were somewhat more likely than Support personnel to experience alcohol problems, they showed enhanced resilience, social support, and sleep health. Alcohol misuse is one potential target for preventive health efforts.

目标：美国特种作战部队 (SOF) 的行为健康障碍率和潜在保护因素尚未得到充分研究，包括操作员和支持人员之间的差异，尽管这些军事人员的战斗暴露水平非常高。本研究检查了大量 SOF 人员样本中认可的行为健康问题和保护因素的普遍性。

方法：分析了来自 2016 年部队和家庭保护 (POTFF) 需求调查的 16,284 名现役特种作战部队成员的匿名数据。

结果：总体而言，PTSD (7.6%)、抑郁 (8.4%)、酒精滥用 (12.8%) 和尼古丁使用 (28%) 的患病率与常规军事人群中报告的相当或更低。操作员和支持人员在许多人口统计和服务相关变量方面存在显着差异。运营商还支持更直接的战斗体验，在韧性和社会支持方面得分更高，并报告了更好的睡眠质量和数量。除了支持人员 (11.6%) 与操作员 (14.0%) 相比，酒精问题的几率 (调整后 OR = 0.81) 低于操作员 (14.0%)，p <.001，95% CI [0.72 , 0.91]。

结论：与常规部队相比，特种作战部队人员在战斗部署中的经历要高得多，但本研究的数据显示，行为健康状况相当或更低。尽管操作员比支持人员更可能遇到酒精问题，但他们表现出更强的适应力、社会支持和睡眠健康。酒精滥用是预防性健康工作的潜在目标之一。