Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:676-679
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Symptom responses of female Vietnam veterans to Operation Desert Storm [published erratum appears in Am J Psychiatry 1992 Aug;149(8):1129]
J Wolfe, PJ Brown and ML Bucsela
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Boston, MA 02130.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the status of symptoms of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) in a cohort of women after the onset of Operation
Desert Storm. METHOD: Seventy-six non-treatment-seeking Vietnam veterans
were obtained from lists of those who recently had participated in other
research projects conducted at the National Center for Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder. Before the onset of Operation Desert Storm, subjects had
completed a set of psychometrically valid instruments measuring general
psychological symptoms and PTSD symptoms (e.g., SCL-90-R, Mississippi Scale
for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder). On the basis of the
latter scale, subjects were divided into groups with and without PTSD
symptoms. At the height of the military conflict, subjects were recontacted
and asked to complete the SCL-90-R and the Veterans Update Form, a measure
assessing changes in PTSD symptoms. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses
indicated that while most female Vietnam veterans experienced some
intensification of stress-related symptoms during Operation Desert Storm,
those who had previously reported high levels of PTSD were significantly
more susceptible to greater distress. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this survey
indicate that female Vietnam veterans with prior wartime exposure are an
at-risk population for the intensification of stress symptoms after the
recurrence of a military conflict.
