Personality patterns among Black, White, and Hispanic combat veterans.

Abstract

Little is known about racial and ethnic differences in personality pathology in combat veterans. Thisinvestigation explored the relationship between race, ethnicity, and personality disorders (PDs) in asample of 96 combat veterans. Ethnoracial group status was based on self-identification, and the groupswere mutually exclusive. PDs were assessed with the MCMI-III , posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)was assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD scale, and combat exposure was assessed with theCombat Exposure Scale. The findings suggest that Hispanic veterans were more likely to have cluster APDs compared to non-Hispanic veterans, even after controlling for demographics, level of combatexposure, and current PTSD. Implications of the results for the research and treatment of culturallydiverse individuals with PDs are discussed.Keywords: personality disorder, combat veteran, race, ethnicity