How Women In The Military Are Affected By War

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Anxiety / Stress
Article Date: 21 Aug 2007 - 5:00 PDT

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WHAT: Recently convened symposium to examine how the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan affect women who are serving and have served in the military

WHO: Nathan D. Ainspan, PhD, Department of Veterans Affairs
Walter Penk, PhD, Texas A&M College of Medicine
Jenna Ermold, PhD, Andrews AFB
Maj. Lisa Teegarden, Psyd, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Ronald Drach, U.S. Department of Labor
Sharon Wills, PhD, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Austin, TX

WHERE: American Psychological Association's 115th Annual Convention
Moscone Center
San Francisco

BACKGROUND: Do women experience war differently than men and do they handle injuries differently? These questions were addressed by psychologists who have been on the front lines of the war along with those who specialize in employing veterans and helping them recover from combat-related stress.

The panel explored the following issues:

* how women return to their roles of parent and spouse after experiencing war

* what are the employment opportunities for female veterans and will their combat experience be seen as a disadvantage

* how are female veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treated when most of the research on PTSD has been conducted on and for male veterans

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The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.

Source: Pam Willenz
American Psychological Association

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