Psychological symptoms and psychiatric diagnoses in Operation Desert Storm troops serving Graves registration duty.

This clinical report describes symptoms of psychological and physical distress and psychiatric disorders in 24 Army Reservists who served war zone graves registration duty in support of Operation Desert Storm. Troops underwent comprehensive assessment for evidence of psychopathology that might be associated with war zone duty as one component of a debriefing protocol scheduled during regular drill exercises eight months after their return to the United States. Troops endorsed items suggestive of high war zone stress exposure, common symptoms of anxiety, anger, and depression, and multiple health and somatic concerns. Almost half of the sample met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, and diagnosis of this disorder was strongly associated with evidence of depressive and substance abuse disorders. The gruesome aspects of body recovery and identification in a war zone setting were cited as stressor elements of significant negative impact.

Psychopathology and psychiatric diagnoses of World War II Pacific theater prisoner of war survivors and combat veterans.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed current and long-term psychological and psychiatric sequelae of war trauma in World War II Pacific theater combat veterans, some of whom had been Japanese prisoners of war (POWs). METHOD: A group of 36 POW survivors and a group of 29 combat veterans, all of whom had seen fierce fighting and heavy unit casualties, were compared approximately 40 years later on psychological instruments assessing psychopathology constructs, negative mood states, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and on the computer-administered National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule. RESULTS: Although similar in personal backgrounds and in having suffered catastrophic war trauma, the two groups differed in the severity and type of psychiatric symptoms and in the occurrence of psychiatric disorders. Anxiety and depressive disorders were common in both groups, but there were differences in the frequency of PTSD diagnoses. Among the POW survivors, 70% fulfilled the criteria for a current diagnosis and 78% for a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD, compared to 18% and 29%, respectively, of the combat veterans. CONCLUSIONS: The findings point to the persistent nature of symptoms thought to be residuals of extraordinary stress and the relation between severity of psychiatric sequelae and characteristics of the stressors.

Memory and learning performances in POW survivors with history of malnutrition and combat veteran controls.

Former prisoners of war (POWs) with histories of malnutrition and body wasting were compared on standardized measures of memory and learning with POW survivors who sustained less confinement body weight loss and combat veterans of similar ages and military assignments. Results showed that POWs who sustained the greatest degree of trauma-induced weight loss, or that exceeding 35% of their precaptivity body weights, performed significantly worse on four of the five Wechsler Memory Scale /3-Revised (WMS-R) indices, showed more rapid rates of forgetting on the Visual Reproduction test, and exhibited slower acquisition rates and less sophisticated mastery of the learning materials on a modified version of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). Given their relatively intact performances on measures of general intelligence and attention-concentration, the POWs with a history of severe malnutrition appeared to evidence a pattern of cognitive limitations qualitatively similar to that associated with alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome.

MMPI profiles of veterans of WWII and Korea: comparisons of former POWs and combat survivors.

MMPI profile patterns were compared between combat veteran groups of 168 POW survivors and 67 servicemen who were not war captives in WWII and the Korean Conflict. Results confirm previous reports that the scales, Hypochondriasis (Hs), Depression (D), and Hysteria (Hy), are characteristically elevated among former POWs. Findings also point to the contribution of scales, Psychasthenia (Pt), Paranoia (Pa), and Ego Strength (Es), in differentiating groups, suggesting that negative ruminations, heightened anxiety, interpersonal anger and suspiciousness, and low self-esteem contribute significantly to group differentiation.

Cognitive deficits and psychopathology among former prisoners of war and combat veterans of the Korean conflict.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to describe the long-term psychological and psychiatric sequelae of prisoner of war (POW) confinement against the backdrop of psychiatric evaluations of Korean conflict repatriates more than 35 years ago. METHOD: A group of 22 POWs and a group of 22 combat veteran survivors of the Korean conflict were compared on measures of problem solving, personality characteristics, mood states, and psychiatric clinical diagnoses by means of a battery of psychometric instruments and structured clinical interviews. RESULTS: Although the two groups were similar in background and personal characteristics, they differed in reports of life adjustment problems, complaints of physical distress, proficiency on cognitive tests, objectively measured personality characteristics, and assigned psychiatric diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Illustrated by a case report which describes the prolonged brutality of the Korean conflict POW experience for one individual, the results suggest that the psychiatric symptoms documented more than three decades ago have persisted in severity and chronicity. In addition to problems with cognitive deficits and complaints of bodily discomfort, most common among POW survivors were symptoms of suspiciousness, apprehension, confusion, isolation, detachment, and hostility.

Trauma-induced weight loss and cognitive deficits among former prisoners of war.

Former prisoners of war (POWs) from the Korean Conflict and WWII reporting confinement weight losses of greater than 35% (n = 60) and less than or equal to 35% (n = 113) and non-POW combat veterans (n = 50) were compared on WAIS-R and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) Logical Memory indices. High weight-loss POWs performed more poorly than combat veterans on Performance IQ, Arithmetic, Similarities, and Picture Completion subtests, Witkin-Goodenough Attention-Concentration Factor, and WMS Immediate and Delayed Recall and more poorly than low weight-loss POWs on Arithmetic, Attention-Concentration Factor, and the WMS immediate memory measure. Low weight-loss POWs and combat veterans differed only on WMS immediate memory. Findings support the Thygesen, Hermann, and Willanger (1970) hypothesis that severity of POW confinement stress reflected by trauma-induced weight loss is predictive of long-term compromise in cognitive performance.

Assessment of long-term psychosocial sequelae among POW survivors of the Korean Conflict.

Psychological and psychiatric assessments were performed among 20 prisoner-of-war (POW) Korean-Conflict survivors. Results revealed extraordinary biological and psychological abuse with weight losses exceeding 35% of preservice weights and long-term cognitive, emotional, and behavioral sequelae. The full range of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms was seen in 90% to 100% of the cases with high prevalence of co-morbidity, specifically mood (75%), other anxiety (45%), and alcohol abuse (20%) disorders. Documented by clinical investigators at POW release and now more than 30 years later, symptoms of apprehensiveness, confusion, detachment, and depression reflect the persistence of psychiatric morbidity over time.

Acute alcohol intoxication: sex comparisons on pharmacokinetic and mood measures.

This study explored sex differences in pharmacokinetic and mood state responses to acute alcohol intoxication among socially drinking women demonstrated to be normally cycling across two consecutive menstrual cycles and men with similar drinking habits. Subjects were administered moderate or high alcohol doses in six experimental sessions over a 60-day period. Women were tested during the early follicular, ovulatory, and midluteal phases of the cycle, and men were administered alcohol at comparable time intervals. Results showed that men did not differ in alcohol pharmacokinetics across sessions, but women showed significantly shorter elimination times and faster disappearance rates during the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle compared to the early follicular and ovulatory phases and to their male counterparts. There were no sex or within-group differences in self-reported negative mood states prior to alcohol administration, but women described increased anxiety and depression while intoxicated during the early follicular compared to ovulatory and midluteal phases. Affective responses to intoxication were a complex function of sex, limb of the blood alcohol concentration-time curve, and dose.

MMPI subtypes and antisocial behaviors in adolescent alcohol and drug abusers.

Relationships between psychopathology and alcohol, drug abuse, and other deviant behaviors were studied in a sample of 60 adolescents with exaggerated drug use patterns. Modal Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profile subtypes were identified using multivariate analyses, and adolescents defined by profile type were compared on background and antisocial history variables derived from retrospective self-reports. Data were collected reflecting a variety of drug categories, including alcohol and opiates. Three distinct patterns were found, with 97% of adolescents meeting criteria for profile type assignment. Adolescent subtypes were characterized by significant differences in degree and type of psychopathology but not in antisocial features. Adolescent alcohol and illicit drug use were associated with marked antisocial features, but the more exclusively antisocial drug-using adolescents tended to be involved in earlier and more extensive types of alcohol and drug activities.

Alcohol use, negative mood states, and menstrual cycle phases.

This study investigated the hypothesis that alcohol consumption patterns among normally menstrually cycling women would be influenced by increased negative mood states and phase of the menstrual cycle. A time-series, within-groups design was used to allow for comparisons among normally cycling women, women maintained on oral contraceptives, and men. Thirty-two adults recorded daily estimates of ongoing behaviors in the areas mentioned for two menstrual cycles or equivalent periods. Radioimmunoassay and temperature data were used to confirm ovulation and to define ovulatory, premenstrual, and menstrual phases. Estimates of anxiety, depression, and hostility were highly intercorrelated, but negative moods were not significantly related to frequency/amount of alcohol consumption. However, normally cycling women reported significantly more negative moods, were frequent drinking to relieve tension/depression, and more frequent solitary drinking at menstruation. These relationships were not observed among oral contraceptive women or men. Collected among psychologically robust, working subjects of high intelligence, these data provide estimates of baseline functioning for future studies exploring the progression of pathological alcohol use patterns among women.

PIP: This study investigated the hypothesis that alcohol consumption patterns among normally menstrually cycling women would be influenced by increased negative mood states and phase of menstrual cycle. A time series, within-groups design was used to allow for comparaisons among normally cycling women, women maintained on oral contraceptives (OCs), and men. 32 adults recorded daily estimates of ongoing behaviors in the areas mentioned for 2 menstual cycles or equivalent periods. Radioimmunoassay and temperature data were used to confirm ovulation and to define ovulatory, premenstrual, and menstrual phases. Estimates of anxiety, depression, and hostility were highly intercorrelated, but negative moods were not significantly related to frequency/amount of alcohol consumption. However, normally cycling women reported significantly more negative moods, more frequent drinking to relieve tension/depression, and more frequent solitary drinking at menstruation. These relationships were not observed among OC women or men. Collected among psychologically robust, working subjects of high intelligence, these data provide estimates of baseline functioning for future studies exploring the progression of pathological alcohol use patterns among women.

Acute alcohol intoxication, negative affect, and autonomic arousal in women and men.

The present study tested the hypothesis that acute moderate alcohol intoxication is associated with reductions in experimentally-induced negative affect among 64 moderately drinking adult women and men. The effort incorporated a balanced placebo design, multiple measures of affective responses including cardiovascular and electrodermal activity, and control for phase of the sexual cycle among nonoral contraceptive women. Negative effect and psychophysiological responses to intoxication following stress manipulation were a complex function of beverage, expectancy, and gender. Expectation of a moderate alcohol dose among women at the premenstruum was associated with higher levels of self-reported anxiety, whereas alcohol consumption guised as tonic seemed to be related to tension reduction. Alcohol tended to increase autonomic arousal among men, but there were no significant changes in negative affect. Moderate intoxication was associated with increased heart rate regardless of gender, and alcohol expectancy increased levels of skin conductance for men and women.

Psychopathology of drug abusers: sex and ethnic considerations.

A cross-validation approach was used to explore potential differences in degree and type of psychopathology among sex and race subgroups of 428 drug abusers applying to two geographically distant tratment programs. Dimensions of psychopathology were measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and analyses of covariance and chi-square procedures were used to compare subgroups on scale elevations and types of psychopathology. Personality characteristics were highly similar across treatment programs, and applicants were characterized by antisocial, passive-dependent, and psychotic symptomatology. Men and women differed little in extent or type of psychopathology, suggesting that women were no more psychologically aberrant than men. White drug abusers were more antisocial, behaviorally deviant, and neurotic than Blacks, but subgroups did not differ in type of psychopathology. Interpreted in the context of other research, results suggest that there are important differences in personality, motivational, drug use, and value system characteristics between Black and White drug abusers.