Combat Troops still wary of admitting mental health problems

Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY6:43 a.m. EDT July 3, 2013

America's combat troops are no more willing today to seek help for mental health problems than they were a decade ago, a failure stoking record suicide rates.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Troops still leery of seeking help for mental problems, fearing damage to careers
  • Survey of attitudes comes as military confronts record amount of suicides
  • Many troops often wait until they are in crisis before asking for help, fearing stigma of mental health issues

America's combat troops are no more willing today to seek help for mental health problems than they were a decade ago, a failure stoking record suicides that have haunted the military in recent years.

In a confidential survey of troops in Afghanistan last year, nearly half of those in the Army who reported psychological issues said they would be seen as weak if they sought help. Sixty percent of Marines with mental health problems responded the same way, according to the latest in a series of Army war-zone field studies.

These sentiments come despite years of Pentagon programs aimed at combating stigma — urging troops to seek help, increasing access to behavioral health specialists and assuring service members that their careers will not suffer.

"Despite efforts to reduce stigma ... there still exists latent tendencies to view seeking behavioral health care as weakness," Army spokesman George Wright said, responding to the report. "Leaders at all levels must continue to resist this culture by associating help-seeking behavior with strength-seeking behavior and by embracing the benefits of increased individual resilience."

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