Veterans from Lebanon wrestle greater than veterans from Afghanistan after taking lives. The 2 missions have been very totally different. Right here, Norwegian naval particular forces practice in Afghanistan. Credit score: Torbjørn Kjosvold, Norwegian Armed Forces.
Taking an individual’s life just isn’t robotically dangerous to a soldier’s psychological well-being if the circumstances justified it, in line with a examine of greater than 14,600 troopers.
“Killing another person does not in itself seem to be something that goes against human nature, and it doesn’t necessarily harm the mental health of the person who does it,” mentioned Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand, a Norwegian medical psychologist.
Commander Nordstrand is the pinnacle of analysis and growth on the Institute of Navy Psychiatry, Norwegian Armed Forces—Joint Medical Companies. As well as, he’s an affiliate professor on the Norwegian College of Science and Know-how (NTNU’s) Division of Psychology.
Revealed in Armed Forces & Society, the outcomes of a brand new examine instantly contradict earlier theories that taking an individual’s life is robotically detrimental to psychological well being. Nevertheless, the whole lot is dependent upon the circumstances by which it takes place.
Studied all Lebanon and Afghanistan veterans
Nordstrand investigated the psychological well being of Norwegian veterans after that they had accomplished their army service. He carried out this examine with Professor Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair from the identical division at NTNU and several other different researchers.
These embody battle veteran Ronny Kristoffersen, who was himself shot in Afghanistan, and former chief psychiatrist of the Norwegian Armed Forces—now recognized from the Norwegian TV program Kompani Lauritzen—Jon Reichelt. It’s a complete examine.
“We studied every Norwegian Armed Forces veteran who had served in Lebanon and Afghanistan, and identified those who have killed in combat,” mentioned Nordstrand.
A canine patrol in southern Lebanon. Credit score: Torbjørn Kjosvold, Norwegian Armed Forces.
The examine included 10,605 Lebanon veterans and 4,053 Afghanistan veterans, though solely a small minority had killed somebody. The researchers then investigated how the experiences throughout service had subsequently affected the troopers’ psychological well being.
“We looked at PTSD, depression, insomnia, anxiety, alcohol consumption and quality of life,” Nordstrand mentioned.
The outcomes are hanging—the distinction between veterans from Lebanon and Afghanistan is large.
The Lebanon veterans suffered extra psychological well being issues
“Taking a life in combat was a key factor among the veterans who had served in Lebanon. The veterans who had killed someone in combat were more likely to experience mental health problems, increased alcohol consumption and reduced quality of life later on,” mentioned Nordstrand.
However that was not the case for the veterans who had served in Afghanistan.
“For the Afghanistan veterans, taking a life had no subsequent impact on their mental well-being. We did not identify a trend in any of the variables we investigated,” mentioned Nordstrand.
The researchers checked all of the analyses to ascertain whether or not different publicity to trauma might clarify the findings. The distinction between the 2 veteran populations is hanging.
In Afghanistan, there was a comparatively excessive threat of participating in fight. Credit score: Norwegian Armed Forces.
Nordstrand believes the findings reveal one thing basic about human nature.
“There is a widespread belief in society that taking the life of another person goes against human nature, and that this will easily create what psychotraumatology refers to as ‘moral injuries’,” he mentioned.
However that does not seem like the case.
“Our findings indicate that whether taking a life subsequently has a negative impact on mental health and quality of life is highly context-dependent,” emphasised Nordstrand.
Fully totally different conditions for troopers in Lebanon and Afghanistan
Lebanon and Afghanistan have been very totally different missions, which can account for a few of the variations.
In Lebanon, the troopers’ mission was largely to calm tensions and be sure that peace was maintained. There was a threat of fight, nevertheless it was nowhere close to as harmful as in Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, troopers have been more likely to come across fight conditions with extra aggressive opponents.
In Lebanon, the troopers’ job was largely to calm tensions and be sure that peace was maintained. There was a threat of participating in fight, however this threat was far decrease than in Afghanistan. Credit score: Torbjørn Kjosvold, Norwegian Armed Forces.
“Participating in a peacekeeping operation seems to make soldiers much more vulnerable to the aftermath of killing another person than soldiers involved in combat missions,” Nordstrand mentioned.
The expectations of the troopers and their missions have been very totally different.
“We believe this supports the view that it is primarily violations of group norms and mission guidelines that make actions like killing harmful,” he mentioned.
If the mission entails a excessive threat of the enemy appearing aggressively, there may be extra leeway and acceptance for taking a life.
The teams are extra comparable with regard to different traumatic experiences, equivalent to being in life-threatening conditions or witnessing one thing traumatic.
“However the Afghanistan veterans expertise fewer issues from being in life-threatening conditions, equivalent to collaborating in fight. That is in all probability associated to coaching and preparation, which offer psychological resilience in high-stress conditions and make it much less possible that such experiences will negatively influence the troopers afterwards.
Clear missions that set up norms
“We believe the findings show that we must be acutely aware of the rules of engagement, expectations, and the mission guidelines we set when sending soldiers on armed missions,” he mentioned.
So long as the mission is clearly outlined and it’s accepted that it might contain taking lives, the psychological influence is often manageable afterward. Credit score: Torbjørn Kjosvold, Norwegian Armed Forces.
And it does not simply apply to troopers. The identical might be true for different areas the place the federal government has a job in violence, such because the police.
“These factors collectively create group norms among the soldiers—norms that determine what they perceive as right or wrong. It is these group norms that are either violated or upheld if they find themselves in a situation where they have to kill,” defined Nordstrand.
If troopers know and expertise that it’s acceptable to kill when the scenario calls for it, such experiences hardly ever grow to be an issue. They don’t seem to be left with a sense of getting executed one thing mistaken. On the similar time, killing somebody could be very far faraway from what most individuals in Norway expertise, so troopers are sometimes notably cautious to make sure that the motion occurred throughout the established group norms.
“The differences between the two groups of veterans in our study enable us to identify what creates protection against and the risk of negative consequences of taking a person’s life. The common factor here is the context in which it occurs. This applies to preparations, both physical and mental, and how society and networks engage with individuals who have killed when they eventually return to Norwegian society.”
5 years of analysis
Nordstrand began this undertaking again in 2020, and though the info shortly offered clear solutions, it nonetheless took 5 years for the article to be revealed.
“This is a sensitive topic, and the findings may be perceived as somewhat taboo. In civilized, humanistic societies, people often dislike the idea that taking a person’s life can be entirely unproblematic for soldiers, as long as it happens within the rules of war,” he mentioned.
“We therefore took our time and ensured that we had solid evidence for the findings of the study and the interpretations of the results. I had several different statisticians thoroughly verify the findings.”
Decided by mindset
Professor Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair joined the crew to include views from anthropology and evolutionary psychology.
“Traditionally, there has been an argument that war is unnatural, that killing is wrong, and that we expect people to be harmed by it, regardless. I have been skeptical of this line of thought,” Kennair mentioned.
He believes the outcomes of the examine verify that the interior group norms, or ‘guidelines of engagement’, decide the long-term results.
“The mindset with which soldiers approach a mission determines whether they expect, are prepared for and interpret the intense aspects of the role. If they are in war mode and fully aware of it, they will deal with it completely differently. They experience events and actions differently than if they are unprepared or have a peace mentality,” defined Kennair.
The well-known battle veteran Ronny Kristoffersen contributed as a co-author and introduced his private fight experiences into the reflections on the findings.
Vital to deal with
“I think it is important to bring evidence-based perspectives on this taboo subject into the public debate,” mentioned Nordstrand.
Nordstrand mentioned that is particularly essential throughout in the present day’s turbulent instances, when many countries are rising their army capabilities and there appears to be a higher threat of involvement in armed conflicts.
“Soldiers kill, and being able to do that is actually a key part of their job. The findings are a clear call to take both political and collective responsibility when sending soldiers on dangerous missions, ensuring that they do not feel as though they have done something that goes against the norms of the society they are part of,” Nordstrand mentioned.
Extra info:
Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand et al, Killing in Fight as a Doubtlessly Morally Injurious Occasion: The Diverging Psychological Influence of Killing on Peacekeepers and Fight-Oriented Troops, Armed Forces & Society (2025). DOI: 10.1177/0095327X251321389
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