Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38686604›Full record

ArticleJournal of interpersonal violence2025

The Prevalence of Sexual Harassment and Bullying Among Norwegian Afghanistan Veterans: Does Workplace Harassment Disproportionately Impact the Mental Health and Life Satisfaction of Female Soldiers?

Line Rønning, Rachel Shor, Frederick Anyan, Odin Hjemdal, Hans Jakob Bøe, Catherine L Dempsey, Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand

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Article in Journal of interpersonal violence, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Line RønningDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.ORCID 0000-0001-8765-2957
Rachel ShorCenter for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Frederick AnyanDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Odin HjemdalDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Hans Jakob BøeInstitute of Military Psychiatry, Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Medical Services, Oslo, Norway.
Catherine L DempseyCenter for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Andreas Espetvedt NordstrandDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Experiencing sexual harassment and bullying during military service can lead to negative consequences for a soldier's mental health and life satisfaction, including increased risk of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. No studies have to date investigated the prevalence and correlates of sexual harassment and bullying among Norwegian Afghanistan veterans, despite the increased global focus on these topics. In 2020, 6,205 Norwegian Afghanistan veterans (8.3% women) completed an online post-deployment survey, including questions about experiences of sexual harassment, bullying, mental health, and life satisfaction. Compared to their male counterparts, female veterans experienced significantly more sexual harassment and bullying during Afghanistan deployment (3.2% vs. 0.04% for experiencing sexual harassment, and 4.0% vs. 1.0% for bullying) and during other military services (14.3% vs. 0.4% for sexual harassment, and 15.9% vs. 3.7% for bullying). Sexual harassment was associated with younger age and experiencing childhood sexual harassment for both women and men, with men also having longer deployments. Bullying was associated with longer deployments and childhood sexual harassment for women, while men who reported bullying more often had longer deployments, held an officer rank, were less inclined to have a spouse/intimate partner, and reported childhood sexual harassment and bullying. Both sexual harassment and bullying were associated with increased risk of mental health problems and reduced life satisfaction for women, but this was only true for bullying among men. Despite lower reported rates of workplace harassment compared to studies from other cultures, this study demonstrates that sexual harassment and bullying in the military can negatively impact soldiers' mental health and life satisfaction. Notably, female veterans' mental health and life satisfaction appear to be particularly affected by sexual harassment during military service, an association not seen in males. This underscores the need for gender-specific, cultural, and context-sensitive prevention and support for workplace harassment experiences.

Indexed as

Afghan Campaign 2001-BullyingMental HealthPersonal SatisfactionSexual HarassmentVeteransAdultFemaleHumansMaleMilitary PersonnelNorwayPrevalenceWorkplaceYoung Adultanxietybullyingdepressionlife satisfactionmilitary veteransposttraumatic stress disordersexual harassment

Identifiers

PMID38686604
PMCPMC11538798

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.