The Psychological Costs of War: Military Combat and Mental Health

Resul Cesur (), Joseph J. Sabia and Erdal Tekin

No 16927, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: While descriptive evidence suggests that deployment in the Global War on Terrorism is associated with adverse mental health, the causal effect of combat is not well established. Using data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we exploit exogenous variation in deployment assignment and find that soldiers deployed to combat zones where they engage in frequent enemy firefight or witness allied or civilian deaths are at substantially increased risk for suicidal ideation, psychological counseling, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our estimates imply lower-bound health care costs of $1.5 to $2.7 billion for combat-induced PTSD.

JEL-codes: H56 I1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-04
Note: EH
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published as Cesur, Resul & Sabia, Joseph J. & Tekin, Erdal, 2013. "The psychological costs of war: Military combat and mental health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 51-65.

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Journal Article: The psychological costs of war: Military combat and mental health (2013)
Working Paper: The Psychological Costs of War: Military Combat and Mental Health (2011)
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