title: Longitudinal correlates of aggressive behavior in help-seeking U.S. veterans with PTSD.
abstract: The current study examined the longitudinal effects of clinical and treatment utilization factors on aggressive behavior among 376 help-seeking U.S. veterans recently diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who were followed for 5-12 months. Participants were sampled from 4 strata: male Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, female Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, male prior-era veterans, and female prior-era veterans. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that changes in PTSD severity were significantly associated with changes in aggressive behavior among veterans who reported any aggression at baseline (β = .15). Changes in days of alcohol intoxication also were positively associated with changes in aggressive behavior (β = .16). Participants with both a benzodiazepine prescription and any baseline aggression were significantly more likely to increase in aggressive behavior over time (β = .14). Contrary to our hypotheses, reductions in aggressive behavior were not related to the number of outpatient mental health visits or to first-line recommended psychotropic medications. Results inform assessment and clinical research on changes in aggressive behavior among veterans with PTSD.
authors.affiliation: VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California 94025, USA.
authors.forename: Hana J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Craig S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Greenbaum
authors.forename: Shaili
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000346:Afghanistan; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*