title: Resilience Mediates Impact of Some Childhood Maltreatment on Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Conscripted Marines in the Republic of Korea.
abstract: Although it is known that post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can result from military service, the variance in PTSS unexplained by military service warrants further investigation, and no researchers have investigated South Korean Marines' vulnerability during their 2-year conscripted service as the first line of national defense against threats from North Korea. This study was designed to examine whether resilience mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and PTSS in 169 Korean conscripts into the Marine Corps. In a cross-sectional study design, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form was used to measure childhood maltreatment, including abuse and neglect. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used to measure PTSS and resilience. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Half the conscripts reported at least one type of childhood maltreatment, and 22.3% had high PTSS, even in a short period of service. Childhood abuse was significantly associated with PTSS during military service, a relationship that was not mediated by resilience. However, resilience mediated the relationship between childhood neglect and PTSS during military service. Assessment of childhood maltreatment and resilience prior to military service is crucial for identifying conscripts at increased risk for PTSS during even brief military service. In addition to direct interventions for abuse effects among all Marines, interventions enhancing resilience may benefit conscripts who experienced childhood neglect. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, College of Nursing and Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University.
authors.forename: Heejung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Professor, College of Nursing and Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University.
authors.forename: Sun Ah
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Professor, School of Nursing, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, 31 Suncheonhyang 6-gil, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Republic of Korea, Zip code: 31151.
authors.forename: Seongsook
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kong
mesh_terms: D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: abuse; childhood maltreatment; military service; neglect; post-traumatic stress symptoms; psychological resilience