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Psychological benefits and liabilities of traumatic exposure in the war zone
Author(s) -
Fontana Alan,
Rosenheck Robert
Publication year - 1998
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 - 10.1023/a:1024452612412
Subject(s) - traumatic stress , psychology , psychological trauma , clinical psychology , suicide prevention , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , vietnam war , human factors and ergonomics , psychiatry , poison control , medicine , medical emergency , pathology , political science , law
Data from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study on 1,198 Vietnam theater veterans were used to examine the psychological benefits and liabilities of traumatic exposure in the war zone. Psychological benefits and liabilities were found to be largely independent of one another and to be related positively to the dose of traumatic exposure. Additionally, there was a curvilinear trend in the form of an inverted U, such that psychological benefits, most notably solidarity with others, were stronger at intermediate compared to high and low levels of exposure. Psychological benefits counteracted and psychological liabilities passed through the effects of traumatic exposure on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The psychological benefit of self‐improvement moderated the effects of the psychological liability of self‐impoverishment on PTSD.