Combat exposure and mental health: the long-term effects among US Vietnam and Gulf veterans

Using a random sample of more than 4000 veterans, we test the effects of combat exposure on mental health. We focus on two cohorts of veterans: those who served in Vietnam (1964-1975) and the Gulf War (1990-1991). Combat exposure differed between these groups in intensity, duration and elapsed time since exposure. We find that combat exposure generally, and exposure to dead, dying, or wounded people, specifically, is a significant predictor of mental health declines as measured by an individual's Mental Component Summary score.

Read more

Coming home may hurt: risk factors for mental ill health in US reservists after deployment in Iraq

Background: Little research has been conducted on the factors that may explain the higher rates of mental health problems in United States National Guard soldiers who have deployed to the Iraq War. Aims: To examine whether financial hardship, job loss, employer support and the effect of deployment absence on co-workers were associated with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 4034 National Guard soldiers at two time points. All measures were assessed by self-report.

Read more

Childhood traumatization by primary caretaker and affect dysregulation in patients with borderline personality disorder and somatoform disorder

Affect regulation is often compromised as a result of early life interpersonal traumatization and disruption in caregiving relationships like in situations where the caretaker is emotionally, sexually or physically abusing the child. Prior studies suggest a clear relationship between early childhood attachment-related psychological trauma and affect dysregulation.

Read more

Children's perspectives on dealing with traumatic events

Understanding children's recovery after trauma is considered important, but existing theories are mainly based on adult research. We carried out semistructured interviews with 25 purposively sampled children (8–12 years old) exposed to single-incident trauma. The children had been affected by the event itself but also by a long aftermath with secondary stressors.

Read more

Childhood trauma and increased stress sensitivity in psychosis

OBJECTIVE: The notion that traumatic experiences in childhood may predict later psychotic outcomes would be strengthened if a plausible mechanism could be demonstrated. Because increased stress sensitivity is part of the behavioural expression of psychosis liability, the possible mediating role of childhood trauma was investigated. METHOD: Fifty patients with psychosis were studied with the experience sampling method to assess stress reactivity in daily life, defined as emotional and psychotic reactivity to stress.

Read more

Can we facilitate posttraumatic growth in combat veterans?

The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, currently under development for the U.S. Army, will include a component designed to increase the possibilities for posttraumatic growth in the aftermath of combat. In this article, the author's briefly review studies that provide evidence for this phenomenon in combat veterans, and they suggest elements that such a program might include to facilitate posttraumatic growth. They urge the Army to conduct randomized controlled trials testing the efficacy of the program prior to its implementation.

Read more

Building child trauma theory from longitudinal studies: a meta-analysis

Many children are exposed to traumatic events, with potentially serious psychological and developmental consequences. Therefore, understanding development of long-term posttraumatic stress in children is essential. We aimed to contribute to child trauma theory by focusing on theory use and theory validation in longitudinal studies. Forty studies measuring short-term predictors and long-term posttraumatic stress symptoms were identified and coded for theoretical grounding, sample characteristics, and correlational effect sizes.

Read more

Asylum : a philosophical inquiry into the international protection of refugees

The right to have rights attaches to those who have lost a legal place of theirown and who, therefore, belong nowhere in this world. At the same time the rightto have rights displays the unavoidable asymmetry between the refugee and thereceiving polity. Therefore, the right to have rights reflects that the refugee isneither inside (hence the asymmetry) nor outside (he belongs nowhere).

Read more

Assessing the prevalence of trauma exposure in epidemiological surveys

Objective: Estimates of the prevalence of exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) in population surveys have increased over time. There is limited empirical evidence on the impact of changes in measurement practices on these estimates. The present study examined the effect of increasing the number of events assessed on the prevalence of exposure longitudinally. Methods: Data were ultilized from the 1997 and 2007 Australian National Surveys of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Read more

Assessing the Sensitivity and Specificity of the MAYSI-2 for Detecting Trauma among Youth in Juvenile Detention

This study investigated the sensitivity and specificity of the most widely used mental health screening instrument in juvenile detention, the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI-2), for detecting trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among detained youth. The MAYSI-2 scales measuring Substance Use, Anger/Irritability, Depression/Anxiety, and Traumatic Experiences contributed to the prediction of PTSD symptoms, however, only Depression/Anxiety contributed to the prediction of associated symptoms for girls.

Read more

Pages