Premium
Combat guilt and its relationship to PTSD symptoms
Author(s) -
Henning Kris R.,
Frueh B. Christopher
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199712)53:8<801::aid-jclp3>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - shame , psychology , feeling , clinical psychology , psychiatry , social psychology
Guilt regarding combat experiences is often considered an associated symptom of PTSD in military veterans. Little is known, however, about the role combat guilt plays in the development and maintenance of PTSD. Inadequate measurement of combat‐related guilt may be one reason for this deficiency in the literature. In the present study, 40 veterans with PTSD completed a novel measure of combat guilt. Items on the scale assessed various types of guilt and shame concerning combat experiences (i.e., survival guilt, guilt over acts of omission and acts of commission, guilt about thoughts/feelings). Guilt was quite prevalent within this sample, and severity of guilt regarding combat was positively correlated with the reexperiencing and avoidance symptoms of PTSD and a general measure of PTSD severity. Implications of these findings and recommendations for the development of measures for combat‐related guilt are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 53: 801–808, 1997