Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138:315-318
Copyright © 1981 by American Psychiatric Association
The Viet Nam Era prisoner of war: precaptivity personality and the development of psychiatric illness
RJ Ursano
The author examines the role of the preexisting personality structure in
the development of psychiatric illness after prisoner of war (POW)
experience using case studies of six repatriated Viet Nam POWs who were
coincidentally evaluated before their captivity. Findings indicate that the
presence of psychiatric illness or predisposition to psychiatric illness is
neither necessary nor sufficient for the development of psychiatric illness
after repatriation. Personality changes reflect both adaptation to the
captivity environment and the impact of the ego- ideal over that of the
punitive elements of the superego. The perspective of personality change
rather than psychopathology is more explanatory of the findings.
