The Impact of Early Life War Exposure on Mental Health among Older Adults in Northern and Central Vietnam.

ABSTRACT: Most Vietnamese young adults who experienced the American War were exposed to war-related violence, which can exert a lifelong impact. We analyze survey data collected among northern and central Vietnamese older adults in the 2018 Vietnam Health and Aging Study (N = 2,447) to examine the association between various war traumas, psychological distress, and suicidal ideation. Informed by life course and stress process perspectives, we use structural equation models with multiple mediators to analyze the relationship between mental health outcomes and five types of wartime stress exposure: loss of family and friends, witnessing death, malevolent living conditions, life threat, and moral injury. Our findings reveal enduring mental health impacts of war among survivors. Wartime stress exposure'

SUBMITTER: Kovnick MO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8633195 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature