--- title: "Psych News Alert: Military Women Are at No Greater Risk of Developing PTSD Than Men" description: While past research on gender differences in the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among U.S. veterans has been mixed, a  rec... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_145496395-Jun-24-2025-04-47-21-5328-PM.jpg --- 8/26/15 12:00 AM # Military Women Are at No Greater Risk of Developing PTSD Than Men ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/08/military-women-are-at-no-greater-risk.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/08/military-women-are-at-no-greater-risk.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/08/military-women-are-at-no-greater-risk.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/08/military-women-are-at-no-greater-risk.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/08/military-women-are-at-no-greater-risk.html) | ![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_145496395-Jun-24-2025-04-47-19-0397-PM.jpg?width=200&height=133&name=shutterstock_145496395-Jun-24-2025-04-47-19-0397-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | While past research on gender differences in the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among U.S. veterans has been mixed, a [recent study](http://www.journalofpsychiatricresearch.com/article/S0022-3956(15)00167-3/abstract) by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs suggests that women in the military are at no greater risk of developing PTSD than their male counterparts who experience similar traumatic events. The study included more than 2,300 pairs of men and women in the military who were matched based on an array of variables—including combat exposure, alcohol misuse, depression, and sexual assault—and surveyed on PTSD symptoms over an average time span of seven years (from 2001 to 2008). All participants had been deployed at least once to Iraq or Afghanistan and did not show signs of PTSD at the study’s initiation. Outcome measures included a positive screen for PTSD and symptom severity scores measured by the PTSD Patient Checklist-Civilian Version. The results, published in the *Journal of Psychiatric Research*, showed that 6.7 percent of women and 6.1 percent of men developed PTSD — a difference that was not statistically significant. There was also no difference in the severity of PTSD symptoms among men and women who developed the disorder. “This study supports the positive direction being taken by the expansion of women's occupations into combat arms roles, and suggests continued support from the [Department of Defense] for women seeking occupational equality in the military setting,” the researchers noted. They concluded that the current findings support the notion that gender alone is not an indicator of PTSD risk. To read more about the efforts to treat PTSD in military personnel, see the *Psychiatric News* article “[Military Turns to Collaborative Care to Treat PTSD, Depression](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2014.11a22).” (Image: bikeriderlondon/shutterstock.com) [PTSD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ptsd), [women](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/women), [military mental health](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/military-mental-health), [Iraq](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/iraq) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/iStock_20687159_MEDIUM-Jun-24-2025-05-24-49-3668-PM.jpg?height=200&name=iStock_20687159_MEDIUM-Jun-24-2025-05-24-49-3668-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/07/quetiapine-appears-effective-as.html) [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [PTSD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ptsd), [antipsychotic](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antipsychotic), [quetiapine](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/quetiapine), [hyperarousal](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/hyperarousal), [re-experiencing](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/re-experiencing) ## [Quetiapine Appears Effective as Monotherapy for PTSD, Study Shows](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/07/quetiapine-appears-effective-as.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 7/26/16 12:00 AM The atypical antipsychotic quetiapine appears to be effective as a single agent in the treatment of... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/07/quetiapine-appears-effective-as.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pills-hand-iStock-1208575544-Jun-24-2025-04-25-50-4859-PM.jpg?height=200&name=pills-hand-iStock-1208575544-Jun-24-2025-04-25-50-4859-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/02/prazosin-may-reduce-drinking-in-some.html) [PTSD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ptsd), [drinking](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/drinking), [alcohol use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcohol-use-disorder), [blood pressure](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/blood-pressure), [Prazosin](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prazosin), [military](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/military), [active-duty military](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/active-duty-military), [Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alcohol-clinical-and-experimental-research) ## [Prazosin May Reduce Drinking in Some Individuals With AUD](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/02/prazosin-may-reduce-drinking-in-some.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 2/23/23 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/02/prazosin-may-reduce-drinking-in-some.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Chiarelli-Jun-24-2025-09-32-32-2245-PM.gif?height=200&name=Chiarelli-Jun-24-2025-09-32-32-2245-PM.gif) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/07/should-ptsd-be-renamed.html) [psychiatry](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychiatry), [PTSD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ptsd), [diagnosis](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/diagnosis), [injury](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/injury), [military mental health](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/military-mental-health) ## [Should PTSD Be Renamed?](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/07/should-ptsd-be-renamed.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 7/11/12 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/07/should-ptsd-be-renamed.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T16:49:43.254Z", "datePublished" : "2015-08-26T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Military Women Are at No Greater Risk of Developing PTSD Than Men", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_145496395-Jun-24-2025-04-47-21-5328-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/08/military-women-are-at-no-greater-risk.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```