Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Hispanic Vietnam Veterans

Alexander N. Ortega · Robert Rosenheck

147 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Journal of Psychiatry

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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Migration, Health and Trauma Education and Military Integration

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Hispanics who served in the Vietnam War. METHOD: The authors conducted secondary data analyses of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, a national epidemiologic study completed in 1988 of a representative sample of veterans who served during the Vietnam era (N=1,195). RESULTS: After adjustment for premilitary and military experiences, the authors found that Hispanic, particularly Puerto Rican, Vietnam veterans had significantly more severe PTSD symptoms and a higher probability of experiencing PTSD than nonminority veterans. However, they had no greater risk for other mental disorders, and their greater risk for PTSD was not explained by acculturation. Despite their more severe symptoms, Hispanic veterans, especially Puerto Rican veterans, showed no greater functional impairment than non-Hispanic white veterans. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic Vietnam veterans, especially Puerto Rican Vietnam veterans, have a higher risk for PTSD and experience more severe PTSD symptoms than non-Hispanic white Vietnam veterans, and these differences are not explained by exposure to stressors or acculturation. This high level of symptoms was not accompanied by substantial reduction in functioning, suggesting that the observed differences in symptom reporting may reflect features of expressive style rather than different levels of illness.

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References

1994Lifetime and 12-Month Prevalence of DSM-III-R Psychiatric Disorders in the United States 1979Impact of Event Scale: A Measure of Subjective Stress 1981National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule 1990Trauma and the Vietnam War generation: report of findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study 1988Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Three studies in reliability and validity.1987Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the General Population 1998Lifetime Prevalence of DSM-III-R Psychiatric Disorders Among Urban and Rural Mexican Americans in California 1987The Prevalence of Specific Psychiatric Disorders in Puerto Rico

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