The psychological risks of Vietnam for U.S. veterans: a revisit with new data and methods.

ABSTRACT: In 1988, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) of a representative sample of 1200 veterans estimated that 30.9% had developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their lifetimes and that 15.2% were currently suffering from PTSD. The study also found a strong dose-response relationship: As retrospective reports of combat exposure increased, PTSD occurrence increased. Skeptics have argued that these results are inflated by recall bias and other flaws. We used military records to construct a new exposure measure and to cross-check exposure reports in diagnoses of 260 NVVRS veterans. We found little evidence of falsification, an even stronger dose-response relationship, and psychological costs that were lower than previously estimated but still substantial. According

SUBMITTER: Dohrenwend BP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1584215 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature