Three Psychiatric Casualties From Vietnam

Solomon, George F.; Zarcone, Vincent P.; Yoerg, Robert; Scott, Neil R.; Maurer, Ralph G.

doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1971.01750180042007

Cited by 44 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Although the trauma precipitating PTSD is conventionally conceived of as unforeseeable and those it affects, as victims (Drescher et al, 2011), that is not always the case. For instance, researchers and clinicians have long documented cases of PTSD resulting from the perpetration of trauma, primarily stemming from involvement in wartime atrocities, such as those committed at My Lai (Breslau & Davis, 1987; Solomon, Zarcone, Yoerg, Scott, & Maurer, 1971; Yehuda, Southwick, & Giller, 1992). The inner conflict resulting from such wartime acts of commission or omission, termed “moral injury” (Drescher et al, 2011), has been the subject of renewed interest in recent years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral transgression during the Vietnam War: a path analysis of the psychological impact of veterans’ involvement in wartime atrocities

Dennis

Voorhees

et al. 2016

Anxiety, Stress, & Coping

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Background and Objectives Involvement in wartime combat often conveys a number of deleterious outcomes, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, hostility aggression, and suicidal ideation. Less studied is the effect of engagement in wartime atrocities, including witnessing and perpetrating abusive violence. Design and Methods This study employed path analysis to examine the direct effects of involvement in wartime atrocities on hostility, aggression, depression, and suicidal ideation independent of combat exposure, as well as the indirect effects via guilt and PTSD symptom severity among 603 help-seeking male Vietnam War veterans. Results Involvement in wartime atrocities was predictive of increased guilt, PTSD severity, hostility, aggression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation after controlling for overall combat exposure. Combat-related guilt played a minor role in mediating the effect of atrocity involvement on depression and suicidal ideation. PTSD severity had a larger mediational effect. However, it still accounted for less than half of the total effect of involvement in wartime atrocities on hostility, aggression, and suicidal ideation. Conclusions These findings highlight the heightened risk conveyed by involvement in wartime atrocities and suggest that the psychological sequelae experienced following atrocity involvement may extend well beyond guilt and PTSD.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral transgression during the Vietnam War: a path analysis of the psychological impact of veterans’ involvement in wartime atrocities

Dennis

Voorhees

et al. 2016

Anxiety, Stress, & Coping

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These intensely painful emotional, psychological, and social experiences fall outside the diagnostic boundaries of PTSD, are assessed optionally or not at all in gold-standard PTSD assessments, are treated incidentally as part of larger treatment approaches, and are typically examined only as ancillary outcomes in PTSD treatment trials. Clinicians working with military service members and veterans, however, have long noted that guilt and shame are central to many of their patients' experience (e.g., Hayley, 1974;Shatan, 1978;Solomon, Zarcone, Yoerg, Scott, & Maurer, 1971;Southwick, Gilmartin, McDonough, & Morrissey, 2006;Yoder, Tuerk, & Acierno, 2010). These service members and veterans are haunted by deployment events that violated their core moral beliefs and expectations, such as perpetrating, witnessing, or failing to prevent, ethical transgressions (Litz et al, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%