The effects of combat exposure on PTSD symptoms among Korean Vietnam War Veterans: Tests of four stress hypotheses

Abstract We investigated the dimensional structure of mental health among aging Korean Veterans using latent profile analysis (LPA) on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD), late onset stress symptomology (LOSS), and psychosocial well-being (PWB). The Korean Vietnam War Veterans Study consists of 367 men (Mage=72, SD=2.66). LPA identified five classes of mental health as best fitting the data. Most men were in the normal (38%) and moderate distress (31%) groups, while smaller proportions were in the low affect (13%) and severe distress (7%) groups. The resilient group (12%) had low PTSD, medium LOSS, and high PWB, and were highest on optimism, positive appraisals of military service, and social support. Negative and positive aspects of mental health outcomes were on separate dimensions rather than on a single bipolar dimension. Service providers should attempt to both reduce Veterans’ negative psychological symptoms and increase psychosocial well-being. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group.

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The Colonized Colonizers: Korean Experiences of the Vietnam War

Journal of American-East Asian Relations ◽

10.1163/187656198793646004 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 7 (3-4) ◽

pp. 217-240

Author(s):

Jinim Park

Keyword(s):

Vietnam War ◽

Health Effects ◽

Agent Orange ◽

District Court ◽

The South ◽

War Veterans ◽

South Korean ◽

The Vietnam War ◽

Vietnam War Veterans

AbstractOn 15 February 1997, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported that the Seoul District Court had rejected an appeal by the Korean Vietnam War veterans who had asked for compensation relating to the health effects of having been exposed to Agent Orange during their service in Vietnam.

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Return to Vietnam

10.1017/9781108972987 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mia Martin Hobbs

Keyword(s):

Oral History ◽

Vietnam War ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Historical Study ◽

Viet Nam ◽

War Veterans ◽

War Memory ◽

War Narratives ◽

Vietnam War Veterans

Between 1981 and 2016, thousands of American and Australian Vietnam War veterans returned to Việt Nam. This comparative, transnational oral history offers the first historical study of these return journeys. It shows how veterans returned in search of resolution, or peace, manifesting in shifting nostalgic visions of 'Vietnam.' Different national war narratives shaped their returns: Australians followed the 'Anzac' pilgrimage tradition, whereas for Americans the return was an anti-war act. Veterans met former enemies, visited battlefields, mourned friends, found new relationships, and addressed enduring legacies of war. Many found their memories of war eased by witnessing Việt Nam at peace. Yet this peacetime reality also challenged veterans' wartime connection to Vietnamese spaces. The place they were nostalgic for was Vietnam, a space in war memory, not Việt Nam, the country. Veterans drew from wartime narratives to negotiate this displacement, performing nostalgic practices to reclaim their sense of belonging.

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