Protecting newly deployed troops from PTSD: the role of preparedness

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem in the military that negatively affects veterans, their families, and military readiness. Previous studies on PTSD have found that veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have both risk factors and protective factors that contribute to the development of symptoms of PTSD but little is known on how or if these factors interact to prevent the development of symptoms of PTSD. This study used a hierarchical multiple regression to test the curvilinear moderating relationship of combat exposure on the relationship between military preparedness and the development of symptoms of PTSD in a sample of 418 veterans seen for evaluation at the New Jersey War Related Injury and Illness Center. Using Inoculation theory as a conceptual framework, this study examined the main and interaction effects of military preparedness and combat exposure on the development of symptoms of PTSD. This was the first study to test this relationship. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS and included descriptive analyses and hierarchical multiple regression. The results of this study demonstrated that 42% of the veterans in this sample had symptoms of PTSD. Both military preparedness and combat exposure predicted the development of PTSD but in opposite directions and in separate pathways. As military preparedness increased, the development of symptoms of PTSD decreased while an increase of combat exposure increased the development of symptoms of PTSD. There was no interaction between the two main variables examined in this study. It was also found that one deployment was more likely to predict the development of symptoms of PTSD than multiple deployments. Combat exposure, however, was not found to moderate the relationship between military preparedness and the development of symptoms of PTSD. These results suggest opportunities to create appropriate PTSD prevention strategies prior, during and after deployment to service members. Practical implications include improving military preparedness in PTSD prevention programs, monitoring of impact of combat exposure, and expanding social work interventions to support service members’ transition to civilian life.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Kathleen Giblin Ra