Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan Army

Depression and anxiety are common mental health conditions among the Army cadet officers that have been extensively studied in the world across varying populations. They are vulnerable enough to develop such conditions due to the military training process and adjustment issues. However, mental h...

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Main Authors: Savithri Vishmika De Silva, Malathie Dissanayake
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Open University of Sri Lanka 2024-12-01
Series:OUSL Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ouslj.sljol.info/articles/7652/files/679c5327c5606.pdf
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author Savithri Vishmika De Silva
Malathie Dissanayake
author_facet Savithri Vishmika De Silva
Malathie Dissanayake
author_sort Savithri Vishmika De Silva
collection DOAJ
description Depression and anxiety are common mental health conditions among the Army cadet officers that have been extensively studied in the world across varying populations. They are vulnerable enough to develop such conditions due to the military training process and adjustment issues. However, mental health conditions of the Army officer cadets have seldom been studied in Sri Lanka. The current study was conducted to examine the prevalence of depression and anxiety among Army officer cadets during basic army training and associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 236 officer cadets, ranging in age from 18 to 27 years who have had the training recently. A self-reported questionnaire which included the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale- 21 and General Health Questionnire-30 was used to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety. Prevalence of anxiety was 43% while the depression was reported 22% among the studied cadet officers. Findings suggest the importance of providing mental health support for these individuals during basic army training. Implementing tailored mental health support programmes that provide accessible resources, counseling services, and coping mechanism training will help officer cadets improve their mental well-being.
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spelling doaj-art-4a20aac546d84918b4b48a8893788a282025-02-05T04:25:55ZengThe Open University of Sri LankaOUSL Journal1800-36212550-28162024-12-011924164https://doi.org/10.4038/ouslj.v19i2.7652Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan ArmySavithri Vishmika De Silva0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9876-7767Malathie Dissanayake1Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo, Sri LankaDepartment of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Sri LankaDepression and anxiety are common mental health conditions among the Army cadet officers that have been extensively studied in the world across varying populations. They are vulnerable enough to develop such conditions due to the military training process and adjustment issues. However, mental health conditions of the Army officer cadets have seldom been studied in Sri Lanka. The current study was conducted to examine the prevalence of depression and anxiety among Army officer cadets during basic army training and associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 236 officer cadets, ranging in age from 18 to 27 years who have had the training recently. A self-reported questionnaire which included the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale- 21 and General Health Questionnire-30 was used to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety. Prevalence of anxiety was 43% while the depression was reported 22% among the studied cadet officers. Findings suggest the importance of providing mental health support for these individuals during basic army training. Implementing tailored mental health support programmes that provide accessible resources, counseling services, and coping mechanism training will help officer cadets improve their mental well-being.https://ouslj.sljol.info/articles/7652/files/679c5327c5606.pdfdepressionanxietymilitary life
spellingShingle Savithri Vishmika De Silva
Malathie Dissanayake
Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan Army
OUSL Journal
depression
anxiety
military life
title Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan Army
title_full Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan Army
title_fullStr Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan Army
title_full_unstemmed Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan Army
title_short Anxiety and Depression among Officer Cadets during the Army Basic Training in the Sri Lankan Army
title_sort anxiety and depression among officer cadets during the army basic training in the sri lankan army
topic depression
anxiety
military life
url https://ouslj.sljol.info/articles/7652/files/679c5327c5606.pdf
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