Captivity stressors and mental health consequences among repatriated U.S. Navy, Army, and Marine Vietnam-era prisoners of war.

Abstract

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.

Positive Adjustment Among American Repatriated Prisoners of the Vietnam War

“…Thus, a good portion, but certainly not all, of the participants in this study possessed a reservoir of helpful strategies to offset the stress of captivity. Such psychological preparation surely served as a protective factor during captivity (King et al, 2011) and may also partially account for the negligible impact of psychological torture in this study. They also returned to the U.S. as probably the one group of Vietnam veterans who received respect and gratitude for their service and sacrifice.…”

“…The counterpoint is that findings align with the broader knowledge base regarding traumatic stress, and lessons learned from this research may be applied to victims of other sustained traumas. As detailed by King et al (2011), these might include imprisoned non-state-sponsored enemy combatants, political detainees and hostages, contemporary targets of human bondage and trafficking (prostitution, slavery, and child military soldiers), and even long-term victims of domestic abuse. Another potential limitation related to the sample is that responders to the 2002 survey were slightly older and more educated, and possibly healthier and better adjusted, than nonresponders.…”

“…Sledge, Boydstun, and Rabe (1980), studying the Air Force subset of this cohort, concluded that the extremely toxic environments to which they were subjected could have beneficial effects in addition to the damaging consequences typically reported for RPWs (e.g., Engdahl, Dikel, Eberly, & Blank, 1997; Sutker, Winstead, Galina, & Allain, 1990; Zeiss & Dickman, 1989). King et al (2011) examined relations between an array of demographics and captivity stressors with indicators of mental distress at repatriation for the remaining Army, Navy, and Marine RPWs. Noting that a majority (Navy and Marine aviators) had received special training prior to capture aimed at coping and functioning under extreme duress, King et al highlighted maturity, commitment, and preparedness as key ingredients to resilience for this group.…”

“…Also, higher levels of education appeared to promote well-being in Israeli RPWs assessed 18 years after the Yom Kippur War (Neria, Solomon, & Dekel, 1998). Taken together, older age, more education, and being married represent maturity or personal resources that would be expected to attenuate the extent of mental distress at repatriation (King et al, 2011) and affect long-term conditions and positive outcomes.…”

Women Vietnam Veterans: Do PTSD Symptoms Mediate Effects of Warzone Service on Health?

“…As demonstrated in King et al (2011), active duty experience and age contribute to maturity and serve a buffering function against the potentially negative consequences of stressful experiences. Further support for the protective effects of age and experience is revealed by studies reporting that younger age is a risk factor for the development of PTSD (Brewin, Andrews, & Valentine, 2000).…”