At any given moment, a notable proportion of parents worldwide have at least one child serving in the military. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in the sample of parents of Israeli soldiers and to assess the difference in this prevalence by type of service (combat vs. non-combat) and other demographic characteristics of parents and soldiers. A cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 202 Israeli parents who were interviewed during January-September 2023. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress (with cut-off points of ≥5, ≥4, and ≥8, respectively). Having depression, anxiety, or stress was defined as psychological distress. Parents' demographics and child's service characteristics were included in the multivariable logistic regression model, with psychological distress as a dependent variable. Almost a quarter (22.8%) of parents experienced distress, defined as having high depression, anxiety, or stress score. In a multivariable model, combat service (vs. non-combat) was significantly associated with distress: parents of combat soldiers were four times more likely to report distress than parents of non-combat soldiers (OR = 3.9; 95% CI: 1.3–11.8). Highly classified service preventing the child from sharing information with the parents was significantly associated with distress (OR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.2–5.3). Most distressed parents (78.3%) did not seek professional help, with the vast majority of those seeking assistance were female. Given the substantial proportion of parents suffering from mental distress found in this study, especially parents of combat soldiers and those serving in highly classified positions, healthcare professionals should be aware of parents' difficulties, be proactive in gathering information about their mental well-being, and be prepared to provide professional help.

中文翻译：

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作为一名士兵的父母是一种充满挑战的经历——以色列士兵的父母感到压力、焦虑和抑郁

在任何特定时刻，全世界都有相当大比例的父母至少有一个孩子在军队服役。本研究的目的是评估以色列士兵父母样本中抑郁、焦虑和压力的患病率，并评估按服役类型（战斗与非战斗）和其他人口特征划分的患病率差异。父母和士兵。对 2023 年 1 月至 9 月期间接受采访的 202 名以色列父母进行了一项横断面研究。抑郁焦虑压力量表 (DASS-21) 用于测量抑郁、焦虑和压力的情绪状态（截止值）分别为 ≥5、≥4 和 ≥8 的点）。抑郁、焦虑或压力被定义为心理困扰。父母的人口统计数据和孩子的服务特征包含在多变量逻辑回归模型中，心理困扰作为因变量。近四分之一（22.8%）的父母经历过痛苦，定义为抑郁、焦虑或压力评分较高。在多变量模型中，战斗服役（与非战斗）与痛苦显着相关：战斗士兵的父母报告痛苦的可能性是非战斗士兵的父母的四倍（OR = 3.9；95% CI：1.3- 11.8）。高度机密的服务阻止儿童与父母分享信息与痛苦显着相关（OR = 2.6；95% CI：1.2-5.3）。大多数陷入困境的父母（78.3%）没有寻求专业帮助，其中绝大多数寻求帮助的是女性。鉴于本研究中发现很大比例的父母患有精神困扰，特别是战斗士兵和担任高度机密职位的父母，医疗保健专业人员应该意识到父母的困难，主动收集有关他们心理健康的信息，并准备好提供专业帮助。