Am J Psychiatry 1985; 142:616-618
Copyright © 1985 by American Psychiatric Association
The psychosocial adjustment of Australian Vietnam veterans
JH Streimer, J Cosstick and C Tennant
The authors reviewed the case records of a random sample of 126 Australian
Vietnam veteran inpatients, recorded the diagnostic and background data,
and made new DSM-III diagnoses. Neurotic disorders accounted for 49% of the
primary or secondary diagnoses. Only 10% of the overall sample had a
primary diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder but 27% of the veterans
who had seen combat had a primary diagnosis of the disorder. Twenty-nine
percent of the overall sample were given a primary diagnosis of alcohol
abuse or dependence. The early developmental environment of the overall
sample frequently included poor parent-child relationships, high rates of
parental separation, and family histories dominated by parental alcohol
abuse.
