New study explores the mental health landscape of veterans resident in Northern Ireland

The wider study analysed responses from the Northern Ireland Veteran Health and Wellbeing Survey (NIVHWS), which collected data from 2017-19 across Northern Ireland. Six local veterans were also interviewed, to understand what it was like to live in Northern Ireland.

Participants included a range of veterans: those who were native to Northern Ireland and served with the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), veterans who were deployed to Ireland during the Troubles via the British Army under Operation BANNER, veterans who were native originally but served with the military outside of Northern Ireland and veterans who have chosen to retire there.

The study found that the veterans who served during the Troubles were exposed to higher levels of interpersonal and combat trauma, particularly if they served with the UDR. UDR Soldiers were often on active duty within their own communities. Unlike those deployed from the UK mainland, members of the UDR have been less likely to escape their trauma. Living in NI as veterans means many describe still feeling a sense of threat; veterans report living 'in a constant state of hypervigilance and distrust'.

Living with elevated rates of traumatic experiences and a sense of pending trauma is accompanied by a noticeable lack of official support, the research found. It also explored whether veterans may choose to manage their mental health or general day-to-day life in Northern Ireland with alcohol, and found many were drinking at hazardous levels (as defined by the AUDIT alcohol assessment measure). However, hazardous alcohol use seemed to occur with and without reported mental health difficulties.

Those veterans who were interviewed described the heavy-alcohol use culture that exists within the military; it is possible that alcohol behaviour cascaded over to veteran life. Most of the veterans interviewed had chosen to reduce or abstain from drinking, but the wider community of veterans who took part in the survey could be drinking in line with military culture or Northern Irish culture, as well as to manage poor mental health. The study recommends further exploration of the trend of hazardous alcohol use within Northern Ireland.

Despite concerns over security and a preference to stay hidden, there were veterans who had actively reached out for help. A large number (42%) had historically received medication to manage poor mental health, with 29% reporting they were currently receiving it. Surprisingly, approximately 46% had received therapy for mental health at some point, however, it was unclear where they accessed it. It is likely that therapy was accessed outside of Northern Ireland but this also warrants further exploration.  Understanding how, where and why veterans in Northern Ireland seek therapy will be key to helping them further.

The main researcher on the study, Dr Catherine Hitch, a member of the British Psychological Society's Defence and Security Section, said:

"This research showed that those who lived and fought locally were the most vulnerable to the poorest mental health outcomes. Members of the UDR, for example, often lived, worked, and retired within the same theatre of war so effectively couldn't escape actual trauma or the threat of trauma.

"Veterans of The Troubles generally spent much of their lives bouncing between extreme environments, so it is no wonder their mental health is impacted. I hope that going forward more can be done to understand the issues ex-soldiers face, and more can be done to improve mental health support services."