Citation

Lasko NB, Gurvits TV, Kuhne AA, Orr SP, Pitman RK. Compr. Psychiatry 1994; 35(5): 373-381.

Affiliation

Veterans Administration Medical Center, Manchester, NH 03103.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7995030

Abstract

This study measured self-reported aggression, hostility, and anger in Vietnam combat veterans with (n = 27) and without (n = 15) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, Past Feelings and Acts of Violence Scale, Episodic Dyscontrol Scale, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), PTSD subjects scored significantly higher than non-PTSD subjects, whose scores fell in the range reported for normative, noncombat populations. The PTSD versus non-PTSD group differences were not explained by combat exposure, which did not correlate significantly with the psychometric aggression measures. These findings suggest that increased aggression in war veterans is more appropriately regarded as a property of PTSD, rather than a direct consequence of military combat. The association between compromised neurologic and neuropsychologic status and the psychometric measures was modest and explained little of the group differences.

Language: en