Reactions to combat stress in Israeli veterans twenty years after the 1982 Lebanon war.
During the war or shortly thereafter, the most common manifestation of combat induced psychopathology is combat stress reaction (CSR). The long-term consequences of CSR have so far received little scientific attention. The aim of this study was to examine whether CSR is a marker for long-term PTSD and other psychiatric comorbidities. Two groups of veterans from the 1982 Lebanon war were assessed 20 years after the war: one comprised 286 CSR casualties and the other comprised 218 matched non-CSR soldiers. Participants were assessed for PTSD, psychiatric symptomatology, social functioning, physical health, and postwar life events. Twenty years after the war, veterans with antecedent CSR reported more PTSD, psychiatric symptomatology and distress, social dysfunction, and health problems than did non-CSR veterans. We conclude that CSR should be seen as a marker for long-term psychiatric distress and impairment. In addition, the implications of combat-related trauma are broad and varied, and go beyond the narrow scope of PTSD.
Solomon
Zahava
Z
Bob Shappell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. solomon@post.tau.ac.il
Shklar
Rami
R
Singer
Yaffa
Y
Mikulincer
Mario
M
D019588:Aging, Premature / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007861:Lebanon; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014857:Warfare