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Multicultural Personality and Posttraumatic Stress in U.S. Service Members
Author(s) -
Herrera Catherine J.,
Owens Gina P.
Publication year - 2015
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/jclp.22138
Subject(s) - psychology , openness to experience , clinical psychology , empathy , personality , flexibility (engineering) , military personnel , multiculturalism , military service , posttraumatic stress , psychiatry , social psychology , pedagogy , statistics , mathematics , archaeology , political science , law , history
Objective Modern military missions place numerous demands on service members, including tactical, personal, and cultural challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore how domains of multicultural personality (cultural empathy, open‐mindedness, social initiative, emotional stability, and flexibility) and combat exposure relate to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in service members. Method Participants ( N = 163) completed the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire, Combat Exposure Scale, and PTSD Checklist–Military as part of an online survey. The majority of participants were Caucasian (87%), mean age was 33 years, and all were deployed at least once to Iraq or Afghanistan Results Regression results indicated that higher levels of combat exposure and open‐mindedness and lower levels of flexibility and emotional stability were significant predictors of higher PTSD severity. The interactions between combat exposure and flexibility and combat exposure and openness were also significant. Conclusion Higher levels of flexibility and emotional stability seem particularly important in their association with lower PTSD severity for service members.