title: Long-term effects of coping with extreme stress: longitudinal study of Vietnam-era repatriated prisoners of war.
abstract: Captivity stressors and coping strategies were assessed shortly after the repatriation of Vietnam-era prisoners of war, and physical and mental health were assessed almost three decades later. Given research on coping goodness-of-fit, specifically the extent to which coping effects depend on situational controllability, we proposed that endorsement of the usefulness of avoidance-based strategies in captivity would be predictive of better later-life health. Findings indicated that approach-based and avoidance-based coping both moderated the link between physical torture and later physical health functional status, whereas approach-based coping moderated the link between injuries at capture and later mental health. Specifically, greater endorsement of avoidance-based coping was associated with better long-term physical health for prisoners who experienced the most physical torture. Lower endorsement of approach-based coping was associated with better long-term mental health for prisoners who reported the most injuries at the time of capture.
authors.affiliation: VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA. anica.plesskaiser@va.gov
authors.forename: Anica Pless
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Crystal L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Lynda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Avron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spiro
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Danny G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kaloupek
authors.forename: Terence M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Keane
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D047829:Vietnam Conflict