Posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress disorder in Veterans

Abstract

One in six Army and Marine veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) meet the criteria for PTSD, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder following return from combat (Hoge et al., 2004). Active Army troops and National Guardsmen together had a PTSD prevalence rate of 30.5% at 12 months following deployment, up from 20.7% at three months following deployment (Thomas et al., 2010). Combat exposure is a key risk factor as it is positively correlated (between r=.25 and .29, p PTSD is an anxiety disorder that is triggered by a psychologically distressing event that elicits intense fear, terror, and helplessness in victims (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). Individuals with PTSD find themselves persistently reliving the traumatic event, avoiding stimuli associated with the event, and experiencing a consistently high level of arousal. These symptoms must be present for at least a month before a diagnosis can be made and significantly impair social and occupational functioning (DSMIV-TR, 2000). PTSD symptom severity has been found to be highly associated with emotional numbing, confusion, altered time sense, liability of mood, and impulsivity (Halligan, Michael, Clark, & Ehlers, 2003). On the other hand, Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) is defined as positive psychological changes in response to a trauma (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995). PTG, like PTSD, has also been found to be positively correlated (r=.29, p Specific characteristics have been identified in individuals who have experienced growth after trauma. High levels of any of five character traits are likely to be associated with PTG development: (1) interpersonal traits including humor, kindness, and leadership; (2) cognition, such as creativity and curiosity; (3) fortitude, such as honesty, bravery, and judgment; (4) temperance, such as forgiveness, modesty, and fairness; and (5) transcendence, including gratitude, hope, and zest (Peterson, Park, Pole, D'Andrea, & Seligman, 2008). Other personality characteristics including extraversion, openness, and agreeableness are positively associated with PTG development (Linley & Joseph, 2004). Particularly in veterans, effort and perseverance were positively associated with PTG development (Pietrzak et al., 2010). Greater levels of perceived harm, threat, and uncontrollability during a traumatic event are associated with higher levels of growth in survivors of trauma (Dekel et al. …