War and Remembrance: Combat Exposure in Young Adulthood and Memory Function Sixty Years Later

Identifying adaptive ways to cope with extreme stress is essential to promoting long-term health. Memory systems are highly sensitive to stress, and combat exposure during war has been shown to have deleterious effects on cognitive processes, such as memory, decades later. No studies have examined coping styles used by combat veterans and associations with later-life cognitive functioning. Defenses are coping mechanisms that manage difficult memories and feelings, with some more closely related to memory processes (e.g., suppression, repression).

Source: Comprehensive Psychiatry - October 6, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Michael D. Nevarez, Johanna C. Malone, Dorene M. Rentz, Robert J. Waldinger Source Type: research