Abstract
The aim of the current study is to examine the clinical characteristics of war-related disturbances among veterans with delayed and immediate-onset post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One hundred twenty-five veterans who sought help/or war-related disturbances, 8 years after the 1982 Lebanon War, filled out the PTSD Inventory, Impact of Event Scale, and SCL-90. Their scores were compared with those of 370 treated combat stress reaction casualties who filled out the questionnaires a year after the same war. Findings indicate that veterans from the delayed-helpseeking group suffer from a higher rate (92 vs. 59%) and a greater intensity of PTSD, more intrusive tendencies, and more severe general psychiatric symptomatology than those of the immediate-helpseeking group. These findings indicate that a fair number of combatants still seek help for war-related disturbances almost a decade after the war. The complex relationship between delayed-helpseeking and delayed-onset PTSD is discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 425-430 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Military Medicine |
Volume | 160 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1995 |