In 1990 and 1991, 697 000 men and women of the US armed forces served in the Persian Gulf. During their service these veterans were exposed to a wide array of known and potential hazards to health.

Careful assessment of purported scientific discoveries and the resulting interpretations is a responsibility of every scientist. The area of memory, particularly memory for abuse, has recently seen new, highly publicized claims. These include the proposal of a new diagnostic category, the false memory syndrome; claims about the ease with which extensive autobiographical memories can be implanted; and estimates of the extent therapists use risky practices likely to cause false memory syndrome. This article suggests questions to evaluate these claims and the methods used to promote them.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

This study is a three-month follow-up study in order to assess the short-term impact of traumatic stress among 53 Swedish survivors of the Estonia disaster.

METHOD:

A questionnaire consisting of general questions about conditions during and after the disaster and self-assessment by Post Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS-10), Impact of Event Scale (IES), Sense of Coherence-short version (SoC-12), and the DSM-IV list of dissociative symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder formulated as questions regarding individual reactions was distributed.

Abstract