Suchergebnisse

While research has documented long-term negative effects of combat exposure, we focused on possible long-term positive effects via positive appraisals of military service. We also assessed the effects of optimism and education using 1,006 male veterans from the VA Normative Aging Study surveyed in 1990 and 1991 (Mage = 62, SD = 7, range = 44–89). We assessed their combat exposure, desirable appraisals of and unit cohesion during military service, dispositional optimism, and psychological well-being. Structural equation models showed that combat exposure had direct effects on positive appraisals of military service and unit cohesion, even controlling for optimism, but only indirect effects on psychological well-being through the positive appraisals. While optimism also predicted well-being in late life, it did not moderate the effect of combat experience on positive appraisals but did mediate the effects of education. Thus, combat exposure had only indirect effects on psychological well-being in later life.

Although 320,000 South Korean army troops fought in the Vietnam War, few studies of Korean Vietnam War veterans exist. We used a lifespan developmental perspective to predict PTSD symptoms in later life among 450 male Korean Vietnam War veterans (Mage = 66.98, SD = 3.04). They completed mail surveys about prewar (prior stressors, childhood family environment), warzone (combat exposure, perceived control, unit cohesion, appraisals of military service), and postwar experiences (post-deployment stressors, social support, and PTSD symptoms). PTSD symptoms in later life were independently predicted by warzone (29.6%) and postwar factors (11.0%); some were protective (desirable appraisals and social support), but most were risk factors (combat exposure, unit cohesion, undesirable appraisals, and postdeployment stressors). While prewar variables accounted for 3.7% of the variance, they moderated the relationship between combat exposure and PTSD symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of a lifespan perspective on understanding the long-term impacts of combat exposure.