103 5 DISCLOSURE IN THE MILITARY - A QUANTITATIVE STUDY division and rank of personnel was approached, half with indication of MHI (N=1000) and half without (N=1000). Data were collected between January and February 2021. All personnel were invited at the same time, both by e-mail and a letter. Reminders were sent after 3 and 5 weeks. It was made clear that the responses to the questionnaire would be anonymous. Measures Demographics Gender, age, marital status, education-level, type of work (operational or not), military department, rank, and years of service were assessed. Current MHI To assess current MHI, the following measures were used; (a)Hospital anxiety and depression scale (21), (b)ASSIST-LITE for substance use disorder (22), (c)AUDIT-C, for alcohol use (23), and (d)PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (24). For psychometric properties and cut-off scores, see appendix A. Self-reported MHI Personnel were asked whether they have (had) MHI. Group membership (i.e., current/ past MHI or no MHI) was determined based on this. If personnel reported having (had) MHI, they received a list of 15 possible types of MHI (see appendix B) and were asked to indicate whether it concerned current or past MHI, in line with earlier research (12, 17, 25). They were asked whether the MHI was work-related (yes/no) and to rate the severity of their symptoms (during the worst time) on a scale of 0 –10. (Non-)Disclosure intentions and decisions Personnel with MHI were asked whether they had disclosed to their supervisor (yes/ no). Personnel without MHI were asked, in case they would develop MHI in the future, whether they would disclose this to their supervisor, using a 4-point scale ranging from very-unlikely to very-likely. Beliefs, attitudes and needs Based on earlier qualitative research on disclosure in the military (6, 11), studies on disclosure among Dutch workers (17, 18), and literature reviews on disclosure (2, 3), it was determined which beliefs and attitudes should be assessed. Regarding the beliefs and attitudes, 13 statements pro non-disclosure (e.g. I would prefer to solve my own problems) and 11 statements pro disclosure (e.g. In order to be your true self, disclosure is important) were developed. Please see the results section for a full overview of the statements. Stigma was found to be a main barrier to disclosure in our qualitative study
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjY0ODMw