162 7 CHAPTER 7 and quantitative research methods. First, focus groups were performed, to explore the main barriers and facilitators relating to treatment-seeking and disclosure. Following this, a quantitative questionnaire study was used to confirm and expand the qualitative research findings. This provides an in-depth understanding of a complex topic (41). An additional strength is the study population examined in the current thesis, as it included multiple perspectives on the topic. Whereas previous research mainly examined military personnel with MHI (2), the current studies also included the perspectives of military personnel without MHI and of mental health professionals. Moreover, we also studied those who had not disclosed their MHI and/or had not sought treatment for their MHI. Their perspectives provide valuable input for future research and interventions. The current thesis also has several limitations, which should be considered when interpreting the results. First, the study population only included active-duty military personnel. This means that those who might have suffered the most negative consequences of treatment-seeking and/or disclosure, for example, loss of employment, were not included in this study. As this study also examined the relationship between disclosure and sustainable employment and well-being at work, it is important that future research also includes the perspective of those who have left the military and studies the long-term effects of disclosure on sustainable employment and wellbeing at work. Additionally, this study did not include the perspective of supervisors and the military organization itself (e.g. HR and higher management). As the results of this study showed the crucial role of supervisor knowledge and attitudes related to MHI, and previous research has shown the importance of organizational policies and support, future research must include the perspective of supervisors and the military organization itself. Another limitation of the current thesis is that none of the studies were based on longitudinal data, meaning that no causality can be presumed. For example, a significant association was found between positive disclosure experiences and sustainable employment and well-being at work. While we expect that positive disclosure experiences lead to improved sustainable employment and well-being at work, it could also be that improved sustainable employment and well-being at work, lead to more positive, retrospective views on disclosure experience. It is therefore very important that future research examines the proposed relationships of this thesis longitudinally. A third limitation of the current thesis is the measure used for disclosure. The disclosure decision was measured as a dichotomous variable, assessing whether someone had disclosed to their supervisor or not. This measure did not take into account the different types of disclosure, namely full disclosure (disclosing the diagnosis to the supervisor), partial disclosure (disclosing some information to the supervisor, such as
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