No abstract

This study examined posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PSS) as a mediator of the association between military sexual trauma and post-deployment physical health. Relationships were examined in a sample of 83 female veterans of the first Gulf War (1990-1991) approximately 10 years post-deployment. Participants reported on the frequency of sexual harassment and sexual assault experienced during deployment. Physical health was measured using participants' self-reports of pre-deployment and post-deployment symptoms within 7 body systems. Sexual harassment exposure was not found to be associated with PSS-mediated associations with physical health symptoms. However, sexual assault during deployment was found to be associated with PSS and 4 of the 7 health symptom clusters assessed: gastrointestinal, genitourinary, musculoskeletal, and neurological symptoms. Furthermore, PSS was found to be a significant mediator of the sexual assault-physical health relationship in each of these domains, with the indirect path accounting for 74% to 100% of the relationship. The findings from the current study indicate that sexual assault has detrimental associations with physical health and that PSS plays a primary role in that relationship.

This study relied on archival data from repatriation examinations and debriefings of 241 U.S. Naval aviators, Army soldiers, and Marines who were held as prisoners of war during the Vietnam era. In addition to descriptive information, we examined relations between personal and military demographics (e.g., marital status, age, length of military service) and captivity stressors (e.g., duration, weight loss, torture) with mental health outcomes (posttraumatic stress symptomatology [PTSS], general distress, and interpersonal negativity). We also evaluated whether rank, specifically officer versus enlisted status, moderated associations between stressors and mental health. Bivariate analyses identified age, officer/enlisted status, length of service, and education as salient correlates of mental health. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that officer status served as a protective factor in the associations between physical torture and PTSS, psychological torture and PTSS, and psychological torture and interpersonal negativity. We discuss these results in terms of how maturity, commitment, and preparedness can be protective under conditions of severe and prolonged hardship.