Life satisfaction of Korean Vietnam War Veterans in later life: A lifespan approach

Abstract

The current study examined correlates of life satisfaction among Korean Vietnam War Veterans. The sample included 450 male Veterans from the Korean Vietnam War Veterans Study, surveyed by mail in 2013 ( Mean age = 67.4 years old, SD = 3.0). A hierarchical analysis was conducted by entering four blocks of variables: first demographic factors, and then pre-military service, military service, and post-military service variables. Each successive regression analysis showed a significant additional contribution to the variance in life satisfaction. In the final model, Korean Veterans had higher life satisfaction when they were married, had higher monthly income and poorer childhood family environment, appraised their military service in a positive light, and had less stressors after homecoming and better perceived physical health. However, combat exposure and social support after homecoming were not independently associated with life satisfaction in the final model. These results imply that both pre- and post-military service factors, as well as cognitive appraisals of military service, should be considered in understanding the subjective well-being of Korean Vietnam War Veterans in later life.

Embitterment in Vietnam War Veterans Predicted by Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

“…Nevertheless, this study is valuable because it is the first investigation on embitterment symptoms in older Asians, specifically Korean veterans who served in the Vietnam War. The study population experienced psychological trauma by engaging in combat situations and also a series of negative events, which is subthreshold to be acknowledged as psychological trauma (e.g., health related issue due to Agent Orange damage [ 19 ] and inadequate compensation for participation in the war [ 20 , 44 ]). The current study also has its strength in that it examined the association of PTED symptom level with psychopathology, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and sleep disturbance in the elderly population with the same type of psychological trauma.…”

“…25 In a study on active duty members in South Korea, whose mean ages were 21 Lee and Kim 11 examined the relationship between negative life events and PTED symptoms in young adults and found that the cumulative and differential effects of negative events increased the risk of embitterment. Our participants were older war veterans who experienced psychological trauma due to their service in the war and a series of negative events, including health related issue due to defoliant damage 19 and unsatisfactory reimbursement of war particaipation 20,44 ; this factor may have affected high PTED prevalence.…”

War-Related Life Course Stress and Late-Life Subjective Age in Northern Vietnam

“…The early life adversities widely encountered in the sample (e.g., severe hunger, direct exposure to violence), whereas relatively common in conflict-affected populations, have rarely been considered in past research. The rare studies similar to VHAS, such as analyses of Korean veterans of the Vietnam War, similarly reveal that stressors spanning childhood, midlife, and late adulthood are salient for older adults’ health and wellbeing ( Lee et al, 2022 ). Because war is globally pervasive, placing billions in harm’s way, including combatants and noncombatant women, children, and older adults ( Bendavid et al, 2021 ), it is increasingly important that researchers account for the stressors of armed conflict in models predicting aging and health outcomes.…”

“… Schafer (2009 :76) observes, “subjective age, like most processes in adulthood, does not materialize in an instant, but stems from lifelong, socially-embedded developmental experiences.” This follows stress proliferation models, which view morbidities and accelerated aging as linked to compounding adversities over time ( Benson, 2014 ; Pearlin et al, 2005 ). Populations that have experienced war often face distinctive stressors over the lifespan, spanning pre and postconflict periods (e.g., food shortages, postconflict readjustment), with enduring ramifications for health and wellbeing ( Kang et al, 2016 ; Lee et al, 2022 ). Resource deprivation and malnutrition, frequently occurring in wartime, also relate to perceived age and processes underlying accelerated aging ( Xie et al, 2023 ).…”

“…War-related stressors do not occur in a vacuum; they are embedded within social and economic hierarchies and cumulative lifespan trajectories that condition their impact ( Bachem et al, 2019 ; Lee et al, 2022 ). Bachem et al’s analyses of Israeli POWs found that adverse childhood events were consequential for subjective age and seemed to “prime” individuals for accelerated aging with the occurrence of each additional conflict or postconflict stressor (Ibid).…”