Summary
The current study examined the role battle experiences and personal resources play in the development of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For this purpose, battle experiences (battle stress, military unit environment) and personal resources (coping styles, causal attribution) were assessed two years after the 1982 Lebanon War in three groups of male Israeli frontline soldiers: 1. soldiers who sought treatment 6 months or more after the war (delayed PTSD); 2. soldiers who sought treatment during the war (immediate PTSD); and 3. control soldiers. Findings indicated that both immediate and delayed PTSD casualties reported similar and higher levels of battle stress than control subjects. In addition, delayed PTSD casualties evinced less personal resouces than control subjects, and immediate PTSD casualties evinced still less personal resources than delayed PTSD casualties. The theoretical implications of the findings were discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramson LY, Seligman MEP, Teasdale J (1978) Learned helplessness in humans: critique and reformulation. J Abnorm Psychol 87: 49–74
American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC
Arkin RM, Maruyama GM (1979) Attribution, affect, and college exam performance. J Educ Psychol 71: 85–93
Bellenky GL (1978) Combat psychiatry. Cited in Kellet A. Combat motivation: the behavior of soldiers in battle. Kluwer-Nijhoff, Boston
Billings AG, Moos RH (1984) Coping, stress, and social resources among adults with unipolar depression. J Pers Soc Psychol 46: 877–891
Brown GW, Harris T (1978) Social orgins of depression: a study of psychiatric disorder in women. Free Press, New York
Cohen F, Lazarus RS (1979) Coping with the stress of illness. In: Stone GG, Cohen F, Adler WE (eds) Health psychology: a handbook. Jossey-Bass, Washington DC, pp 217–254
Coyne JC, Aldwin C, Lazarus RS (1981) Depression and coping in stressful episodes. J Abnorm Psychol 90: 439–447
Egendorf A, Kadushin C, Laufer R, Rothbarth G, Sloan L (1981) Legacies of Vietnam—comparative adjustment of veterans and their peers. Center for Policy Research, New York
Figley CR (1978) Delayed stress response syndrome: family therapy implications. J Marriage Fam Counseling 3: 53–60
Folkman S, Lazarus RS (1980) An analysis of coping in a middleaged community sample. J Health Soc Behav 21: 219–239
Folkman S, Lazarus RS (1985) If it changes it must be a process: study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. J Pers Soc Psychol 48: 150–170
Green BL, Grace MC, Glesser GC (1985) Identifying survivors at risk: long term impairment following the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. J Consult Clin Psychol 53: 672–678
Janoff-Bulman R (1979) Characterological versus behavioral self blame: inquiries into depression and rape. J Pers Soc Psychol 37: 1798–1809
Langer E, Rodin J (1976) The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged: a field experiment in an institutional setting. J Pers Soc Psychol 84: 191–198
Lazarus RS, Folkman S (1984) Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Metalsky GI, Abramson LY, Seligman MEP, Semmel A, Peterson C (1982) Attributional styles and life events in the classroom: vulnerability and invulnerability to depressive mood reactions. J Pers Soc Psychol 43: 612–617
Mikulincer M, Solomon Z (1988) Attributional style and combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. J Abnorm Psychol 97: 308–313
Moos RH (1972) Coping with acute health crises. In: Millon T, Green C, Meagher R (eds) Handbook of clinical health psychology. Plenum Press, New York
Moos RH (1973) Military Company Environment Inventory. Stanford University, Palo Alto
Nezu AM, Carnevale GJ (1987) Interpersonal problem solving and coping reactions of Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Abnorm Psychol 96: 155–157
Pearlin HJ, Morton AL, Menagham EG, Mullin JT (1981) The stress process. J Health Soc Behav 22: 337–356
Peterson C, Seligman MEP (1984) Causal explanations as a risk factor for depression: theory and evidence. Psychol Rev 91: 347–374
Shils EA, Janowitz M (1948) Cohesion and disintegration in the Wehrmacht in World War II. Public Opinion Q 3: 281–282
Solomon Z, Mikulincer M, Avitzur E (1988) Coping, locus of control, social support, and combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. J Pers Soc Psychol 55: 279–285
Solomon Z, Mikulincer M, Hobfoll S (1986) Effects of social support and battle intensity on loneliness and breakdown during combat. J Pers Soc Psychol 51: 1269–1277
Solomon Z, Mikulincer M, Waysman A, Marlowe DH (1991) Delayed and immediate onset posttraumatic stress disorder: differential clinical manifestations. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 26: 1–7
Solomon Z, Weisenberg M, Schwarzwald J, Mikulincer M (1987) Post-traumatic stress disorder among front-line soldiers with combat stress reaction: the 1982 Israeli experience. Am J Psychiatry 144: 448–454
Strickland BR (1978) Internal-external expectancies and health-related behaviors. J Consult Clin Psychol 46: 1192–1211
Taylor RJ, Frazer AG (1982) The stress of post-disaster body-handling and victim identification work. J Hum Stress 8: 4–12
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, Grant No.DAMD17-87-G-7002. The views, opinions, and findings contained in this report are those of the authors and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy, or decision, unless so designated by other documentation.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Solomon, Z., Mikulincer, M. & Waysman, M. Delayed and immediate onset posttraumatic stress disorder. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 26, 8–13 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00783574
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00783574