Past Issues

Objective: The aims of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive
symptoms among soldiers during military training, and to further evaluate and
analyze factors associated with depressive symptoms. Methods: In this cross-sectional
study, the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ) was given to assess
the self-reported experiences of depressive symptoms among 1,155 young adult
soldiers. All male subjects were non-randomized selected from the army troops in
northern Taiwan, and completed general training. We divided them into the“low
depressive symptoms group”and the“high depressive symptoms group,” based on
TDQ screening results. The cut-off point was 19. Results: The fi ndings showed
that 27.7% (n=320) of the soldiers had TDQ scores more than or equal to 19. With
logistic regression, we found that signifi cant correlations between depressive
symptoms, and factors of low education levels, low family income, stress from
military life and family, high levels of fi nancial stress, stress from worrying about
the future, passive coping skills, and inadequate social support. Conclusions: This
pilot study revealed a higher prevalence rate of depressive symptoms and may refl
ect problems in adapting to military environment. Special attention should be
paid in soldiers who have low education levels, low family income, stressors, passive
coping skills, and inadequate social support during training course.