War Stressors and Symptom Persistence in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Creator(s)

Bonnie L. Green, Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine
Mary C. Grace, Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine
Jacob D. Lindy, Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine
Goldine C. Gleser, Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-1990

Description

This study focused on delineating aspects of war stressors associated with risk for posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. Findings from 191 Vietnam war veterans are presented, addressing which elements of the war experience predicted PTSD in remission or persistent PTSD. Some experiences, like loss and injury, predicted having had PTSD symptoms in the past, while other experiences, such as exposure to grotesque death, predicted current (persistent) PTSD. Discriminant analysis showed that the more extreme/intense the stressor experiences, the higher the risk for developing PTSD and for persistent symptoms. These findings provide empirical support for the PTSD diagnosis and additional data for refining the PTSD stressor criterion.

Citation Information

Green, Bonnie L.; Grace, Mary C.; Lindy, Jacob D.; and Gleser, Goldine C.. 1990. War Stressors and Symptom Persistence in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. Vol.4(1). 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/0887-6185(90)90022-2 ISSN: 0887-6185