Combat Experiences Link With Posttraumatic Growth Among Veterans Across Conflicts: The Influence of PTSD and Depression

We examined the relation between combat experiences and posttraumatic growth along with its subscales, as well as the influence of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptom severity. The study contained a sample of 130 combat veterans representing a variety of deployment locations. Regression analysis revealed combat experiences to be associated with posttraumatic growth beyond the effect of age (β = 0.21; p = 0.014). In addition, the association between combat experiences and posttraumatic growth was most evident among those endorsing low levels of depression symptom severity (partial η squared = 0.07; p = 0.009). These results highlight the need to consider negative cognitions and other depressive symptoms as potential barriers to posttraumatic growth.
Source: The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research