ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine whether Vietnam veterans' risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was correlated with their premilitary school performance. The authors compared both primary and secondary school record data on hospitalized chemically dependent PTSD patients with those of both non-PTSD, chemically dependent and community controls. All participants were male Vietnam war combat veterans. The comparisons were made with MANCOVA analyses with the effects of combat and age differences between groups controlled. For the most part, primary-school grade point average, absenteeism, and tardiness data on three groups did not differ significantly. However, the mean secondary school grade points of the future PTSD patients were generally substantially lower than those of controls. Additionally, more secondary school absenteeism and tardiness were reported among future PTSD patients than in the controls. The groups did not differ significantly on number of extracurricular activities. Academic weakness, absenteeism, and tardiness in secondary school appear to be moderately strong predictors of vulnerability to PTSD after traumatization. It also supports the claim that chronic PTSD is, in part, the result of weaknesses present before exposure to trauma.
Subject(s)
Records/statistics & numerical data , Schools/statistics & numerical data , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology , Veterans/statistics & numerical data , Absenteeism , Achievement , Adult , Hospitalization , Humans , Male , Multivariate Analysis , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Risk Factors , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Substance-Related Disorders/diagnosis , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , VietnamABSTRACT
Ninety male Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were administered relaxation instructions, relaxation instruction with deep breathing exercises, or relaxation instructions with deep breathing training and thermal biofeedback. Improvement appeared on only 4 of the 21 PTSD and physiological dependent variables studied. All 21 Treatment x Time interactions were nonsignificant. This suggests that the treatments were mildly therapeutic, but that the additions of training in deep breathing and thermal biofeedback did not produce improvement beyond that associated with simple instructions to relax in a comfortable chair.
Subject(s)
Relaxation Therapy , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Veterans/psychology , Adult , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Treatment Outcome , WarfareABSTRACT
This study was designed to determine whether the prevalences of the DSM-III alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms in 87 early and 73 late onset male alcoholics differ from one another. The authors administered a 19-item alcohol abuse/dependence symptom checklist with items based on the DSM-III criteria. Nine of the 19 symptoms were reported significantly more often in the early than in the late onset alcoholics. Antisocial behaviors were reported to have been particularly frequent in the early onset group.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/epidemiology , Adult , Age of Onset , Alcoholism/classification , Alcoholism/diagnosis , Antisocial Personality Disorder/diagnosis , Antisocial Personality Disorder/epidemiology , Comorbidity , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Personality Inventory , Prevalence , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesABSTRACT
The purpose of this project was to identify the outcomes associated with frequent, moderate, occasional, and nonparticipation in Alcoholics Anonymous by male alcohol dependents during the first month after treatment. Informants reported nonparticipants consumed far more alcohol during a 48 week followup than moderate or occasional participants. Moderate and occasional participants were rated as abstinent more often than nonparticipants. Nonparticipants were also reported jailed more often than participants. All other consumption and quality of life comparisons between the groups were nonsignificant. Occasional and moderate AA attendance appear to be associated with better outcomes than nonattendance, but frequent participation was not associated with additional improvement.
Subject(s)
Alcoholics Anonymous , Alcoholism/therapy , Patient Compliance , Adult , Alcoholism/diagnosis , Analysis of Variance , Cross-Sectional Studies , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Prognosis , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
The research on the controversial Alcoholics Anonymous tenet that limited drinking rapidly leads alcoholics to inebriety is inconclusive. We conducted 48-week follow-ups on 51 posttreatment alcohol dependents who had reportedly engaged in limited drinking and 51 paired controls who apparently had not. According to the informants, the limited drinkers consumed 16 times as much alcohol and were 4 times as likely to regress to unacceptable drinking as controls. They were also more often rehospitalized and attended fewer Alcoholics Anonymous meetings than the controls. They were, however, usually (62%) categorized as abstinent or moderate drinkers when assessed during the follow-up period. The groups did not differ in risk of jailing, detoxification, or job loss, nor did limited drinkers ordinarily regress quickly to inebriety. The outcomes of our limited drinkers were inferior to those of controls but much less negative than those Wilson's Alcoholics Anonymous maintains.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking , Alcoholism/rehabilitation , Adult , Alcoholic Beverages , Alcoholics Anonymous , Alcoholism/diagnosis , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Readmission , Probability , Quality of Life , Recurrence , Temperance , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
We compared the frequencies with which PTSD patients, psychiatric controls, and hospital employee controls reported that their fathers, mothers, and oldest siblings of each sex had been incarcerated or had received psychiatric/psychological treatment. We also compared estimates of the number of psychiatric hospitalizations, incarcerations, courses of outpatient treatment, treatment sessions, and days of institutionalization undergone by the relatives. Only a chance number of significant differences appeared, which suggests that general psychosocial maladjustment in one's family of origin does not appear to increase trauma survivors' risk for PTSD.
Subject(s)
Combat Disorders/psychology , Family/psychology , Personality Development , Social Adjustment , Veterans/psychology , Adult , Aged , Child of Impaired Parents/psychology , Combat Disorders/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Personality Assessment , Risk Factors , VietnamABSTRACT
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients, psychiatric controls, and hospital employee controls rated their father, mother, and oldest sibling of each sex on 14 PTSD Interview (PTSD-I) symptom ratings. The stress disorder patients assigned their relatives significantly higher PTSD-I ratings than the control group members did in 35 of 120 comparisons. The number of significant differences was nearly identical in the fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers. Differences were particularly frequent on items pertaining to intrusive thoughts, impoverished relationships, and guilt. The results suggest that a trauma survivor's risk for PTSD may be related to his family's history for PTSD-like behaviors.
Subject(s)
Family Health , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Family , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data , Risk Factors , Severity of Illness Index , Sex Factors , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Veterans/psychologyABSTRACT
The concurrent validities of five self-report alcoholism measures were compared in a psychiatric hospital population using Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) alcohol dependence module outputs as criterion. The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test was the most accurate identifier of alcohol dependence at some point in the subjects' life, while the CAGE interview best identified alcohol dependence in the previous year. The correlations of a quantity-frequency measure, the Clinical Signs checklist, and the Medical History questionnaire with DIS alcohol dependence module outputs were generally weaker. The data also suggested that cutting scores based on local norms may offer better hit rates in psychiatric settings than those proposed by the instruments' authors, but additional cross-validations are needed to confirm that possibility.
Subject(s)
Alcoholism/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Patient Admission , Personality Inventory/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Alcoholism/psychology , Alcoholism/rehabilitation , Comorbidity , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/psychology , Mental Disorders/rehabilitation , Middle Aged , Psychometrics , Reference Values , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
We compared the scores of Vietnam veterans in treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder on the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder just before, just after, and 6 months after they participated in a pilgrimage to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. Significant short-term improvement was reported on Mississippi total scores and on 10 of its 35 items. The number of items showing significant improvement between the initial assessment and the 6-month follow-up did not exceed chance, but significant variance increases appeared on 8 of 35 items. This suggests that the pilgrimage led to a) short-term improvements on several posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and b) long-term improvements for some participants, but equally large exacerbations for others on a subset of symptoms.
Subject(s)
Desensitization, Psychologic , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Travel , Adult , Follow-Up Studies , Holidays , Humans , Implosive Therapy , Life Change Events , Male , Personality Inventory , Severity of Illness Index , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Veterans , VietnamABSTRACT
This study was designed to explore the effects of moral development on the relationship between combat intensity and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder. The effect of combat intensity on PTSD Interview total scores and several individual stress disorder symptom ratings was substantial in a Low Moral Development sample, but negligible in a High Moral Development group. These data suggest that moral development may blunt the effect of combat severity on PTSD. These effects were strongest on items that describe reexperiencing of the trauma and exaggerated arousal. Possible interpretations of the results and several caveats were discussed.
