Introduction Research indicates that military service involves stressors that may be related to depression. However, the military provides financial, educational, psychological, and social advantages that may help to mitigate the effects of service-related stressors. Because most prior research was based on cross-sectional data or small clinical samples, we explored individual-level trajectories of depression over time. Methods Data came from the restricted-use version of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) in four survey waves from 1994 to 2008, with a total of 1,112 service members, of whom 231 were female, and a total sample size of 13,544. Statistical estimation employed the multilevel growth curve modeling approach. Results Individuals who later served in the military had lower rates of depression than their civilian counterparts at year 1 of the study, and rates of depression decreased consistently for both groups throughout the study. Service members ended up with the same level of depression compared to civilians (year 14). Sex, race and parental education were unrelated to depression, and no evidence was found for the hypothesis that the military functions as a “bridging environment” to reduce depression by providing a more attractive alternative compared to civilian life. Conclusions Individuals who were less depressed at year 1 of the study were more likely to enlist into the military. While both civilians and service members displayed decreasing depression over the years of the study, military members had less decrease in depression over time beginning at a lower level of depression than civilian. Taken together, the minor differences in depression between the civilian and military samples and the lower level of depression among military members at the beginning of the study suggest that military service selects against higher levels of depression at the start of service and, given the known stressors related to the military, membership in the service may be associated with resilience to depression.

中文翻译：

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服兵役期间的韧性和抑郁：来自全国青少年到成人健康纵向研究的证据（Add Health）

介绍 研究表明，服兵役涉及可能与抑郁症有关的压力因素。然而，军队提供的财政、教育、心理和社会优势可能有助于减轻与服役相关的压力源的影响。由于大多数先前的研究都是基于横断面数据或小型临床样本，因此我们探索了抑郁症随时间推移的个体水平轨迹。方法 数据来自1994年至2008年四轮调查全国青少年至成人健康纵向研究（Add Health）限制使用版，共1112名服役人员，其中女性231人，总样本大小为 13,544。统计估计采用多级增长曲线建模方法。结果 在研究的第 1 年，后来在军队服役的人的抑郁症发生率低于文职人员，并且在整个研究过程中两组的抑郁症发生率持续下降。与平民（第 14 年）相比，现役军人的抑郁程度相同。性别、种族和父母教育与抑郁症无关，没有证据表明军队作为“桥梁环境”通过提供比平民生活更有吸引力的选择来减少抑郁症。结论 在研究的第 1 年，抑郁程度较低的人更有可能参军。虽然在多年的研究中，平民和军人的抑郁症都在减少，与平民相比，军人从较低的抑郁水平开始随着时间的推移抑郁症的减少较少。综上所述，研究开始时平民和军人样本之间抑郁的微小差异以及军人的抑郁水平较低表明，军人在服役开始时选择对抗较高水平的抑郁，并且考虑到已知的压力源与军队有关，军人身份可能与抗抑郁能力有关。