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PTSD symptoms, life events, and unit cohesion in U.S. soldiers: Baseline findings from the neurocognition deployment health study
Author(s) -
Brailey Kevin,
Vasterling Jennifer J.,
Proctor Susan P.,
Constans Joseph I.,
Friedman Matthew J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20234
Subject(s) - stressor , cohesion (chemistry) , psychology , neurocognitive , clinical psychology , psychiatry , vulnerability (computing) , medicine , cognition , computer security , chemistry , organic chemistry , computer science
Relationships among a modifiable situational factor (unit cohesion), prior stressful life events, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were assessed in 1,579 U.S. Army soldiers with no history of contemporary war zone deployment. It was predicted that unit cohesion would attenuate the dose‐response relationship between past stressor exposures and PTSD symptoms at relatively moderate levels of exposure. Consistent with this hypothesis, regression analysis revealed that life experiences and unit cohesion strongly and independently predicted PTSD symptoms, and that unit cohesion attenuated the impact of life experiences on PTSD. Some military personnel reported significant predeployment, stress‐related symptoms. These symptoms may serve as vulnerabilities that could potentially be activated by subsequent war‐zone deployment. Higher predeployment unit cohesion levels appear to ameliorate such symptoms, potentially lessening future vulnerability.