A two year follow-up of somatic complaints among Israeli combat stress reaction casualties

The relationships of somatic complaints and health related habits to combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder were assessed one and two years after the 1982 Lebanon War. The sample consisted of 285 combat stress reaction Israeli casualties and 198 comparable controls. Results showed that higher rates of somatic complaints were reported by both combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder casualties at the two points in time. Theoretical and methodological implications were discussed.