Report
2018 Department of Defense Health Related Behaviors Survey (HRBS)
Apr 28, 2021
Results from Army Reserve Respondents to the HRBS
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DoD Health Related Behaviors Survey for reserve component service members
6.1% identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB)
Significantly greater percentages of LGB personnel than non-LGB personnel reported serious psychological distress and probable PTSD ; suicidal thoughts and attempts; binge and heavy drinking; cigarette, e-cigarette, and smokeless tobacco use; illicit drug use; unwanted sexual contact;* and having been physically assaulted. These results are not specific to the Army Reserve.
* Unwanted sexual contact in the HRBS is a broader construct than sexual assault, and these survey responses do not represent official reports of sexual assault.
52.2% reported at least one prior combat or noncombat deployment
Among those who had ever deployed:
The Health Related Behaviors Survey (HRBS) is the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD's) flagship survey for understanding the health, health-related behaviors, and well-being of service members.
Army reservists reported body weights that are comparable to the general population and Healthy People 2020 goals, but they presented several other areas of concern.
Most Army reservists reported that they did not get adequate amounts of sleep, and they fell short of the Healthy People 2020 goal for average daily amount of sleep. Their rate of binge drinking was comparable to that of the general population but did not meet the Healthy People 2020 goal.
Use of any tobacco or nicotine products and of e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco was higher among Army reservists than among the general population. Army reservists' use of cigarettes was comparable to that of the general population, but Army reservists did not meet Healthy People 2020 goals for use of cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco.
Prevalence of psychological distress and probable PTSD was greater among Army reservists than among the general population. Percentages of those who considered or attempted suicide were also higher among Army reservists than among the general population.
Development of military-appropriate population benchmarks, especially by service branch, could facilitate goal-setting, command visibility, and incremental improvements in health-related readiness.
A low overall response rate (8.4 percent for the Army Reserve and 9.4 percent across all services) suggests that the results should be interpreted with caution and in conjunction with other existing data. Use of targeted incentives, modules administered to subsets of respondents, or a service member panel survey could help improve response rates and representation. The above comparisons with the general adult population do not control for demographic differences between the two populations.
Adapted from 2018 Department of Defense Health Related Behaviors Survey (HRBS): Results for the Reserve Component, by Sarah O. Meadows, Charles C. Engel, Rebecca L. Collins, Robin L. Beckman, Joshua Breslau, Erika Litvin Bloom, Michael Stephen Dunbar, Mary Lou Gilbert, David Grant, Jennifer Hawes-Dawson, Stephanie Brooks Holliday, Sarah MacCarthy, Eric R. Pedersen, Michael W. Robbins, Adam J. Rose, Jamie Ryan, Terry L. Schell, and Molly M. Simmons, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RR-4228-OSD, 2021. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. For the complete report detailing these and other findings, visit www.rand.org/t/RR4228.
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