Epidemiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults

2012 ◽  
pp. 83-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Breslau
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Specific Response ◽  
Epidemiological Surveys

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was established in 1980, when it was incorporated in the DSM-III. The PTSD definition brackets a distinct set of stressors—traumatic events—from other stressful experiences and links it causally with a specific response, the PTSD syndrome. Explicit diagnostic criteria in DSM-III made it feasible to conduct large-scale epidemiological surveys on PTSD and other psychiatric disorders, using structured diagnostic interviews administered by nonclinicians. Epidemiologic research has been expanded from Vietnam veterans, who were the center of DSM-III PTSD study, to civilian populations and postwar regions worldwide. This chapter summarizes information on the prevalence estimates of PTSD in U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War, soldiers returning from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and civilian populations. It outlines research findings on the course of PTSD, risk factors, comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, and the risk for other posttrauma disoders. It concludes with recommendations for future research.

The Cycle of Trauma: Relationship Aggression in Male Vietnam Veterans With Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina A. Byrne ◽  
David S. Riggs
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychological Aggression ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Female Partners ◽  
Relationship Aggression ◽  
Increased Risk

This study examined the association between symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in male Vietnam veterans and their use of aggressive behavior in relationships with intimate female partners. Fifty couples participated in the study. Veterans reported on their PTSD symptoms, and veterans and partners completed measures assessing the veterans’ use of physical, verbal,’ and psychological aggression during the preceding year as well as measures of their own perceptions of problems in the relationship. Results indicated that PTSD symptomatology places veterans at increased risk for perpetrating relationship aggression against their partners. The association between veterans’ PTSD symptoms and their use of aggression in relationships was mediated by relationship problems. Clinical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depression and Anxiety in a Community Sample of New Zealand Vietnam War Veterans

1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Long ◽  
Carol MacDonald ◽  
Kerry Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Vietnam War Veterans

Objective: The aim of the paper is to investigate the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety in a community sample of New Zealand Vietnam War veterans. Method: Data were collected as part of a national survey on the health and mental health of New Zealand Vietnam veterans. Five hundred and seventy-three randomly selected male Vietnam veterans participated in a postal survey. The questionnaire contained a number of demographic, biographical and psychological measures. Results: The results revealed that 10% of the veterans could be classified as PTSD cases and that these veterans exhibited high levels of depression and anxiety. In PTSD cases, 15% were also classified with anxiety, 6% with depression, and 73% were classified with both anxiety and depression. In PTSD cases 94% were classified with more than one additional disorder. In non-PTSD cases 27% were classified with anxiety, and 1% with depression, while 12% experienced both anxiety and depression. Conclusions: The consequences of comorbidity for research and treatment are discussed and it is suggested that health professionals should be attentive to military experience as a predictor of these disorders.

Violence and Hostility Among Families of Vietnam Veterans With Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Michael Glenn ◽  
Jean C. Beckham ◽  
Michelle E. Feldman ◽  
Angela C. Kirby ◽  
Michael A. Hertzberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
General Psychological Distress

The current study provides a portrait of emotional-behavioral functioning within a small sample of Vietnam veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), their partners, and older adolescent and adult children. Veterans, their partners and children reported moderate-low to moderate-high levels of violent behavior. In addition, partner and veteran hostility scores were elevated relative to gender and age matched norms. Partners also reported heightened levels of psychological maltreatment by veterans. Veterans’ combat exposure was positively correlated with hostility and violent behavior among children but unrelated to partner variables. Veterans’ reports of PTSD symptoms were positively associated with reports of hostility and violence among children, and hostility and general psychological distress among partners. Veterans’ violent behavior was also positively correlated with children’s violent behavior, but did not yield significant correlations with other child or partner variables. Findings are discussed in relation to prior work and directions for future research are addressed.

Do Psychopathic Traits Statistically Protect Against PTSD? A Retrospective Study of Vietnam Veterans

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-S4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shauna M. Bowes ◽  
April L. Brown ◽  
William W. Thompson ◽  
Martin Sellbom ◽  
Scott O. Lilienfeld
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychopathic Traits ◽  
Combat Exposure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dsm 5 ◽  
Statistical Interactions

Although psychopathy traits are traditionally associated with maladaptivity, certain traits may statistically buffer against risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research suggests that psychopathy traits are differentially associated with PTSD, as boldness traits are negatively related to PTSD whereas disinhibition features are positively related. The authors sought to clarify the relations between psychopathy and PTSD in a large sample of Vietnam veterans (N = 2,598) and to examine the statistical interactions among (a) psychopathy traits and (b) combat exposure and psychopathy traits in predicting PTSD. Results indicate that psychopathy traits are differentially associated with PTSD in combat-exposed veterans, although the authors found little evidence that boldness was protective against PTSD. Nonetheless, meanness was significantly, albeit weakly, protective against PTSD in the presence of combat exposure. The authors consider the implications of these findings for future research, including the need to consider fearlessness as a heterogeneous construct, and they examine whether the findings generalize to PTSD in DSM-5.

scholarly journals Efficacy and Underlying Mechanism of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of Animal Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1575
Author(s):  
Chan-Young Kwon ◽  
Boram Lee ◽  
Sang-Ho Kim
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Methodological Quality ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Spatial Learning And Memory ◽  
Expectancy Effects ◽  
Therapeutic Mechanisms

Acupuncture is a nonpharmacological intervention that can be useful in the clinical management of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially in situations with a lack of medical resources, including large-scale PTSD events such as disasters. Some clinical studies have reported the clinical effect of acupuncture in improving PTSD symptoms, but the underlying therapeutic mechanism has yet to be explored. Therefore, this review summarized the underlying therapeutic mechanisms of acupuncture in animal PTSD models. A comprehensive search was conducted in 14 electronic databases, and two independent researchers performed study selection, data extraction, and the methodological quality assessment. Twenty-four relevant studies were included in this review and summarized according to the proposed main mechanisms. In behavioral evaluation, acupuncture, including manual acupuncture and electro-acupuncture, reduced anxiety and fear responses and weakened fear conditioning, improved sleep architecture, reduced depressive symptoms, and alleviated disturbance of spatial learning and memory of PTSD animal models. The therapeutic mechanisms of acupuncture proposed in the included studies could be classified into two categories: (1) regulation of stress responses in the neuroendocrine system and (2) promotion of neuroprotection, neurogenesis, and synaptic plasticity in several brain areas. However, the methodological quality of the included animal studies was not high enough to produce robust evidence. In addition, mechanistic studies on specific aspects of acupuncture that may affect PTSD, including expectancy effects, in human PTSD subjects are also needed.

Factors Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptomology Among Women Who Have Experienced Sexual Assault in Canada

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051986008
Author(s):  
Janice Du Mont ◽  
Holly Johnson ◽  
Cassandra Hill
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Dating Violence ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Sexually Assaulted

There is a dearth of information about the association of victim-related and assailant-related characteristics and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among sexually assaulted women. Recently, Statistics Canada included items measuring the possible presence of PTSD symptoms in their 2014 nationally representative General Social Survey on Victimization (GSS-V), for the purpose of improving the understanding of mental health impacts associated with sexual victimization. The present study used the GSS-V to examine the association of sociodemographic, health, and assailant characteristics and prior traumatic experiences in the form of physical or sexual dating violence, physical assault, stalking, childhood abuse, and witnessing of violence between parents with PTSD symptomology among sexually assaulted women. Among 319 women who reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual assault in the 12 months prior to the survey, 68.6% had experienced at least one negative emotional impact as a result, among whom, 43.6% reported past-month PTSD symptoms. Logistic regression modeling revealed that prior traumatic events in the form of physical or sexual dating violence, stalking, and having witnessed violence between parents were associated with higher odds of experiencing PTSD symptoms, as was having been sexually assaulted by a known assailant. In contrast, the odds of experiencing PTSD symptoms was lower for Aboriginal or visible minority women. The results suggest that PTSD symptoms in the near aftermath of sexual victimization are common, and there are a range of factors that contribute to the likelihood of developing these symptoms. Implications for future research are discussed.

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