Peace and war: trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms before, during, and after military deployment in Afghanistan.
Abstract
In the study reported here, we examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms
in 746 Danish soldiers measured on five occasions before, during, and after deployment
to Afghanistan. Using latent class growth analysis, we identified six trajectories
of change in PTSD symptoms. Two resilient trajectories had low levels across all five
times, and a new-onset trajectory started low and showed a marked increase of PTSD
symptoms. Three temporary-benefit trajectories, not previously described in the literature,
showed decreases in PTSD symptoms during (or immediately after) deployment, followed
by increases after return from deployment. Predeployment emotional problems and predeployment
traumas, especially childhood adversities, were predictors for inclusion in the nonresilient
trajectories, whereas deployment-related stress was not. These findings challenge
standard views of PTSD in two ways. First, they show that factors other than immediately
preceding stressors are critical for PTSD development, with childhood adversities
being central. Second, they demonstrate that the development of PTSD symptoms shows
heterogeneity, which indicates the need for multiple measurements to understand PTSD
and identify people in need of treatment.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AdultAfghan Campaign 2001-
Combat Disorders
Denmark
Humans
Male
Military Personnel
Resilience, Psychological
Severity of Illness Index
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Time Factors
Warfare
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9771Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1177/0956797612457389Publication Info
Berntsen, Dorthe; Johannessen, Kim B; Thomsen, Yvonne D; Bertelsen, Mette; Hoyle,
Rick H; & Rubin, David C (2012). Peace and war: trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms before, during,
and after military deployment in Afghanistan. Psychol Sci, 23(12). pp. 1557-1565. 10.1177/0956797612457389. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9771.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Rick Hoyle
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Research in my lab concerns the means by which adolescents and emerging adults manage
pursuit of their goals through self-regulation. We take a broad view of self-regulation,
accounting for the separate and interactive influences of personality, environment
(e.g., home, school, neighborhood), cognition and emotion, and social influences on
the many facets of goal management. Although we occasionally study these influences
in controlled laboratory experiments, our preference is to study the pu
David C. Rubin
Juanita M. Kreps Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
For .pdfs of all publications click here My main research interest has been in long-term
memory, especially for complex (or "real-world") stimuli. This work includes the study
of autobiographical memory and oral traditions, as w
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