Citation

McNally RJ. J. Anxiety Disord. 2012; 26(7): 776-778.

Affiliation

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.06.008

PMID

22858106

Abstract

Consulting archival medical data from the American Civil War, Frueh and Smith found little evidence of mental disorders, no evidence of reexperiencing symptoms suggestive of posttraumatic stress disorder, but a notable rate of suicide. In this commentary, I suggest reasons why the archives contain so few traces of combat-related disorders despite the massive trauma experienced by soldiers in the Civil War, and I draw implications for military personnel returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Language: en