The mental health status of Chinese medical peacekeepers in Lebanon

We investigated the mental health status of Chinese medical peacekeepers in Lebanon. In total, 59 peacekeepers completed the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS; Zung, 1965), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS; Zung, 1971), and Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90; Wang, 1984) 1 week after their arrival in Lebanon. These data were compared with those of 62 military personnel (control group 1) and 58 medical workers (control group 2). Significant differences were found between the peacekeeping group and control group 1 concerning sum scores on the SDS and SAS, and a number of SCL-90 factors. Although peacekeepers had good mental health status 1 week after arrival, this needs to be assessed longitudinally in future research.