Data on more than 315,000 reservists returning from deployments between 2003 and 2006, combined with longitudinal labor market earnings data, indicate that reservists who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms earn up to 6% less than they would have earned if they had not had such symptoms in the first four years following deployment, according to a recent RAND Corporation study.
Another key finding of the study is that reservists symptomatic of PTSD earn substantially less than average in both their military and civilian employment prior to deployment. According to the report more research is needed on how PTSD and the factors that make individuals susceptible to it affect military careers.
