THE IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE CHRONICITY OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Background: The research objective was to identify overstated emotional characteristics in armed conflict veterans as well as both the similarities and differences in personality profiles between patients suffering from acute and chronic forms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Subjects and methods: Our study’s sample consisted of 60 participants in the armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February, 1998 until 11 June, 1999. All of them were diagnosed with PTSD, during the six months period after their return from active duty. In 2014 we retested the same subjects to see their current psychological state. Diagnoses of PTSD were made using Structure Clinical Interview for DSM–IV (SCID-I), while the assessment of emotional characteristics was made using Plutchik\u27s emotion profile index (PIE). Results: We established no statistically significant difference in PIE profiles between both groups in recent re-testing. The only significant difference as per PIE classification was found earlier when the subjects were initially diagnosed. The amplified emotional dimension was exploration, and only the group of chronic PTSD patients displayed significantly higher values (p