AFTERMATHS OF COMBAT STRESS REACTIONS - A 3-YEAR STUDY

The current study provides an overview of a study assessing the psychological and somatic health adjustment of Lebanon War veterans one, two and three years after the war, comparing combat stress reactions (CSR) casualties with controls. Findings indicated that combat-related psychopathology was overwhelmingly more prevalent among CSR casualties than among their matched controls one, two and three years after war. In addition, the passage of time had no effect on the relative psychiatric symptomatology, social functioning, self-efficacy, and somatic complaints in either of the two study groups. This stable mental health status of the CSR casualty over the three years of the study contrasts with the observed decline in trauma-related distress in the third year. Results are discussed in terms of the emotional sequelae of war trauma.