The Impact of War Stress on Veterans Families

Proučavajući ličnosti i sociodemografske varijable koje su povezane s oporavljanjem od BSR-a, autorica ovoga rada i njene kolege, pronašli su neočekivanu vezu između bračnog statusa i PTSP-a. Ovi nalazi doveli su do niza istraživanja koja su usredotočena na obitelji veterana koji pate od PTSP-a. Istraživanja koja su prezentirana u sljedećem radu pokazala su visoku stopu sekundarne traumatizacije. Naime, psihička trauma može stvoriti valove koji se šire u krugovima i koji ne pogađaju samo žrtve sâme, već i one koji su im bliski. Dok su veterani direktno traumatizirani ratom, njihove žene i obitelji postaju indirektnim žrtvama traume. Osim toga, prikazani su i raspravljeni korelati sekundarne traumatizacije u veteranskim obiteljima. Rad nadalje raspravlja o ublažujućim faktorima te o implikacijama nalaza na roditeljstvo i obiteljski život.Studying the personality and sociodemographic variables implicated in recovery from CSR, the author of this paper and her colleagues found a surprising association between marital status and PTSD. This finding had led to a series of studies focusing on families of veterans suffering from PTSD. The studies, presented in the following paper, revealed high rates of secondary traumatizationt. That is, psychic trauma may create ripples which affect not only the victims themselves, but also those who are close to them. While veterans were traumatized directly by the war their wives and families become indirect victims of the trauma. Furthermore correlates of secondary traumatization in veterans\u27 families are presented and discussed. The paper further discusses some moderating factors and the implications of the findings for parenthood and family life

Depression and PTSD Co-Morbidity: What are We Missing?

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression comorbidity is highly common. Many hypotheses concerning this relation have been raised but the pertinent issues, including the wide clinical picture of this comorbidity, are still not clear. The current study aims to bridge these gaps. Method: We assessed PTSD, depression and comorbid indicators including dissociation, somatization, self- destructive behavior and suicidality among Israeli Yom Kippur war veterans at three time points (N = 349, 287, 301). Results: Dissociation, somatization, self-destructive behavior and suicidality were predicted separately by group (PTSD, depression and comorbidity) and time of measurement using ANOVA and Chi squared analyses. The ‘comorbidity’ group expressed significantly higher dissociation, somatization, self-destructive behavior and suicidality, revealing high vulnerability of this group. Somatization presented a curvilinear-like development, increasing between T1 and T2 and slightly declining at T3, especially among the ‘comorbidity’ group. Suicidality showed a constant increase along the three measurements, especially among the comorbidity group. Conclusions: A PTSD/depression comorbidity is both highly prevalent and long lasting and is often expressed concurrently with other related symptomatology, which causes further suffering and makes it more complicated for treatment. Implications for policy makers are briefly discussed

What doesn't kill you makes you feel older: lifespan adversity and its association with subjective age among former prisoners of war

Background: Subjective age (SA) is an indicator of aging that has been empirically associated with health impediments and hindered longevity. Studies show that adverse life events may result in relatively older SA, but have not addressed the differential contribution of life events across the lifespan and the course of posttraumatic psychopathology on the SA of aging survivors of extreme trauma. Objective: Filling this gap, the current study explored the differential contribution of (1) adverse experiences in various life-stages and (2) trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the prediction of SA in a sample of former prisoners-of-war as they enter old age. Method: A cohort of Israeli former prisoners-of-war of the 1973 Yom Kippur War (N = 103) was assessed at four points throughout four decades after the war. A linear hierarchical regression was utilized to assess the contribution of negative life events during childhood, participation in other wars, combat exposure, suffering in captivity, life events since the war and the trajectories of PTSD for predicting SA 42-years post-repatriation. Results: Lifespan adversity explained 50% of the variance in SA, with trajectories of PTSD making the largest contribution, followed by life events since the war. Negative life events in childhood added to the explained variance only when PTSD trajectories were accounted for. Exposure to combat, participation in additional wars and the severity of specific experiences during captivity did not reach significance, though the latter marginally contributed to the explained variance (p = .069). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of considering the prolongation of posttraumatic psychopathology together with life adversities and their differential implications when addressing SA after extreme trauma. The findings suggest that early life adversity may be a latent factor that increases vulnerability to posttraumatic premature aging processes

Growing Apart: A Longitudinal Assessment of the Relation Between Post-traumatic Growth and Loneliness Among Combat Veterans

The aftermath of war-related trauma may entail psychological devastation and is typically accompanied by various deleterious phenomena. These include, but are not limited to, high rates of loneliness. However, trauma may also result in positive outcomes such as personal, spiritual, and relational prosperity, which are typically considered under the conceptual framework of post-traumatic growth (PTG). PTG may theoretically contribute to either loneliness amelioration (e.g., via increasing one's appreciation of close relationships) or exacerbation (e.g., by increasing one's sense of undergoing experiences that others do not share). Loneliness, on the other hand, may potentially hinder PTG by fostering negative social cognitions and behaviors, or otherwise lead to personal growth. The relations between the two phenomena, however, have yet to be investigated. Filling this gap, the current study examined the aforementioned potentialities by utilizing an autoregressive cross-lagged modeling strategy (ARCL) with a cohort of 260 Israeli combat veterans assessed 30, 35, and 42 years after their participation in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Results indicated that higher rates of PTG were consistently related to higher rates of loneliness both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Loneliness, however, did not longitudinally predict PTG rates. It is suggested that these findings may be understood in light of the observation that veterans' loneliness is primarily related to the experience of being experientially out of sync with people who have not endured war experiences. It is suggested that this experiential loneliness may include not only the negative but also the positive ramifications of undergoing such traumas (i.e., PTG). We, therefore, argue that while PTG may include authentic positive transformations it may also lead to more negative ramifications, and these should be identified and addressed by researchers and clinicians alike. Thus, as study limitations are acknowledged, clinical implications, and future research directions are suggested

Long-term adjustment among Israeli war veterans: The role of attachment style

This study examines the role of attachment in the long-term adjustment of Israeli veterans. The sample of participants comprised three groups of Israeli veterans who fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War: 112 combat stress reaction (CSR) casualties, 98 veterans who received medals for bravery, and 189 controls. The CSR casualties reported higher levels of emotional distress than did participants in the two other groups. CSR veterans also showed the lowest levels of secure attachment characteristics. Additionally, the findings revealed different relationships between the avoidant style of attachment and emotional distress measures across the research groups. The implications of these findings are discussed according to two theoretical models of attachment

Longitudinal Development of Primary and Secondary Posttraumatic Growth in Aging Veterans and Their Wives: Domain-Specific Trajectories

Posttraumatic growth (PTG), the positive psychological transformations that follow traumatic events, affects both direct survivors (primary PTG) and their significant others (secondary PTG). Though primary and secondary PTG have been widely investigated in the literature, their long-term trajectories decades after a traumatic event, especially as survivors enter older age, remain largely uninvestigated. Furthermore, it remains contested whether PTG adds up to a monolithic construct or rather consists of relatively independent components. Addressing these issues, we assessed a sample of Israeli male veterans from the 1973 Yom Kippur war (N = 349) and their wives (N = 156) at three time points over the course of nearly three decades. Both the veterans (primary survivors) and their wives (secondary survivors) reported PTG relating to the veterans' experiences during the war and/or captivity. Latent growth mixture modeling was conducted to identify trajectories of PTG on the five subscales of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Long-term trajectories of PTG followed heterogeneous patterns of fluctuation over time and particularly as participants entered older age. On most subscales, decreasing PTG scores were evident, a trend that was more pronounced among the primary survivors than the secondary survivors as primary and secondary PTG fluctuate considerably in the long-term and seem to decrease as individuals enter older age. Furthermore, it would seem that PTG should not be considered a holistic concept but rather a conglomeration of positive changes. Implications of the findings are discussed within the context of limitations and potential intervening factors

Patients' views of involuntary hospital admission after 1 and 3 months: prospective study in 11 European countries

This is an author-produced electronic version of an article accepted for publication in the British Journal of Psychiatry. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at http://bjp.rcpsych.or

Archaeoacoustic analysis of Cybele’s temple, Imperial Roman Palace of Felix Romuliana, Serbia. An interpretation using a method complementary to archaeology.

Archaeoacoustic and physical phenomena research at ancient sites has developed beyond the initial stage. Our research group uses a practical standard (SBSA) complementing the field of archaeology. Studying archaeoacoustics and natural phenomena over the last four years, has enables us to offer an explanation as to some of the enigmas of ancient archaeological sites that were not possible to explain with other methods. Following our experience, we applied the same method to look at an interesting question about the orientation of Cybele’s Temple situated within the Imperial Roman Palace Felix Romuliana, South-East Serbia. This temple and its fixtures are the only place within the palace that is not oriented along the east-west axis of the complex as was the Roman tradition (Decumanus). Historians also made reference to mysterious rituals, so we used archaeoacoustical methods to better understand why this ought be. We found that the temple’s orientation followed the direction of some infrasound and low frequency vibrations most likely originating from an underground flow of water. These frequencies would have increased the effect of rituals by enhancing the psyche of the participants due to the influence of these low vibrations on human brain waves. This suggests the builders of this temple had some sort of knowledge of this effect