TY - JOUR
T1 - The aging of heroes
T2 - Posttraumatic stress, resilience and growth among aging decorated veterans
AU - Stein, Jacob Y.
AU - Bachem, Rahel
AU - Lahav, Yael
AU - Solomon, Zahava
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Despite increasing interest in the mental health of aging veterans, the pathogenic and salutogenic ramifications of war have not been investigated among aging veterans who received decorations of valor. Filling this gap, 73 Israeli decorated veterans (DVs) and 73 non-decorated veterans (n-DVs) (M age = 68.5) were assessed for posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression and anxiety 18 and 45 years after the war, and for posttraumatic growth (PTG) 45 years after the war. Analyses revealed deteriorating posttraumatic avoidance among n-DVs but not among DVs, and significantly lower rates of anxiety and depression and higher rates of PTG among the DVs. These findings suggest that factors related to being a DV may foster resilience to posttraumatic sequelae and are potentially conducive to PTG in later life. Though the study precludes making causal inferences, it serves as a springboard for future investigations into positive mechanisms underlying DVs’ relative resilience and growth in later life.
AB - Despite increasing interest in the mental health of aging veterans, the pathogenic and salutogenic ramifications of war have not been investigated among aging veterans who received decorations of valor. Filling this gap, 73 Israeli decorated veterans (DVs) and 73 non-decorated veterans (n-DVs) (M age = 68.5) were assessed for posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression and anxiety 18 and 45 years after the war, and for posttraumatic growth (PTG) 45 years after the war. Analyses revealed deteriorating posttraumatic avoidance among n-DVs but not among DVs, and significantly lower rates of anxiety and depression and higher rates of PTG among the DVs. These findings suggest that factors related to being a DV may foster resilience to posttraumatic sequelae and are potentially conducive to PTG in later life. Though the study precludes making causal inferences, it serves as a springboard for future investigations into positive mechanisms underlying DVs’ relative resilience and growth in later life.
KW - Decorated veterans
KW - PTG
KW - aging
KW - posttraumatic stress
KW - resilience
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078929028&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17439760.2020.1725606
DO - 10.1080/17439760.2020.1725606
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AN - SCOPUS:85078929028
SN - 1743-9760
VL - 16
SP - 390
EP - 397
JO - Journal of Positive Psychology
JF - Journal of Positive Psychology
IS - 3
ER -