Am J Psychiatry 1985; 142:1304-1311
Copyright © 1985 by American Psychiatric Association
Symptom patterns associated with posttraumatic stress disorder among Vietnam veterans exposed to war trauma
RS Laufer, E Brett and MS Gallops
The authors tested whether the relationship between traumatic stress and
posttraumatic stress disorder is captured more accurately by aggregating
symptoms, as in DSM-III, or differentiating them into the subtypes of
denial and reexperiencing. Their findings indicate that distinguishing
between the responses of denial and reexperiencing is an alternative and
potentially more useful approach for understanding posttraumatic stress
disorder and its origins in war trauma than the comprehensive model
proposed in DSM-III. The analysis suggests that biases in the current model
of posttraumatic stress disorder may lead to underestimation of its
prevalence. The authors conclude that reconsideration of what constitutes
the disorder is warranted.
