Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Killing and latent classes of PTSD symptoms in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Maguen S, Madden E, Bosch J, Galatzer-Levy I, Knight SJ, Litz BT, Marmar CR, McCaslin SE. Killing and latent classes of PTSD symptoms in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Journal of affective disorders. 2013 Mar 5; 145(3):344-8.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Our goal was to better understand distinct PTSD symptom presentations in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (N = 227) and to determine whether those who killed in war were at risk for being in the most symptomatic class. METHODS: We used latent class analysis of responses to the PTSD checklist and logistic regression of most symptomatic class. RESULTS: We found that a four-class solution best fit the data, with the following profiles emerging: High Symptom (34% of participants), Intermediate Symptom (41%), Intermediate Symptom with Low Emotional Numbing (10%), and Low Symptom (15%). The largest group of individuals who reported killing (45%) was in the High Symptom class, and those who killed had twice the odds of being in the most symptomatic PTSD class, compared to those who did not kill. Those who endorsed killing a non-combatant (OR = 4.56, 95% CI [1.77, 11.7], p < 0.01) or killing in the context of anger or revenge (OR = 4.63, 95% CI = [1.89, 11.4], p < 0.001) were more likely to belong to the most symptomatic PTSD class, compared to those who did not kill. LIMITATIONS: The study was retrospective and cross-sectional. The results may not generalize to veterans of other wars. CONCLUSIONS: Killing in war may be an important indicator of risk for developing frequent and severe PTSD symptoms. This has implications for the mental healthcare of veterans, providing evidence that a comprehensive evaluation of returning veterans should include an assessment of killing experiences and reactions to killing.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.