title: An examination of the broader effects of warzone experiences on returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans' psychiatric health.
abstract: The objective of the present research was to test the hypotheses that: (1) Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans experience a wide range of psychiatric symptomatology (e.g., obsessive-compulsive symptoms, hypochondriasis, somatization); and (2) general psychiatric symptomatology among Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans is associated with their warzone experiences. To achieve this objective, Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans (N=155) completed a screening questionnaire that assessed a wide range of psychiatric symptoms along with a measure of warzone experiences. As expected, returning veterans reported significant elevations across a wide range of clinical scales. Approximately three-fourths screened positive on at least one clinical subscale, and a one-third screened positive on five or more. In addition, nearly all of these conditions were associated with veterans' warzone experiences (average r=0.36); however, this association was much stronger among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (average r=0.33) than among veterans without PTSD (average r=0.15). We also observed that approximately 18% of the variance in total psychiatric symptomatology was attributable to warzone experiences above and beyond the effects of childhood trauma and demographic factors. Taken together, these findings suggest that returning veterans experience a broad array of psychiatric symptoms that are strongly associated with their warzone experiences.
authors.affiliation: Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: Nathan.Kimbrel@va.gov.
authors.forename: Nathan A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kimbrel
authors.affiliation: VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, TX, USA; Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, TX, USA; Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Temple, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Bryann B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: DeBeer
authors.affiliation: VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, TX, USA; Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, TX, USA; Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Temple, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Silvia
authors.affiliation: Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Jean C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Beckham
authors.affiliation: VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, TX, USA; Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, TX, USA; Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Temple, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, TX, USA; Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, TX, USA; Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Temple, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Morissette
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D058014:Veterans Health
keywords: Anxiety; Combat; Depression; PTSD; Psychopathology; Trauma; Veterans