Delayed Onset PTSD among Israeli Veterans of the 1982 Lebanon War

Abstract

This is an exploratory study of the nature, course and rates of delayed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We reviewed 150 medical files of Israeli soldiers who sought help between 6 months and 5 years after the 1982 Lebanon War. Results indicated that only 10% of the cases were truly examples of delayed PTSD; in a large proportion of the cases, help-seeking rather than onset was delayed.

Validation of a screening instrument for posttraumatic stress disorder in a community sample of Bedouin men serving in the Israeli Defense Forces

“…An anecdotal finding from the interviews implies that the vast majority of men diagnosed with PTSD reported experiencing subsyndromal levels of symptoms for quite sometime before exacerbation to a noticeable dysfunction occurred shortly after discharge (Caspi, Saroff, Suleimani, & Klein, submitted manuscript). Whether this relates to the phenomenon of delayed PTSD requires further investigation; some researchers suggest that the delay is actually in the helpseeking rather than the onset of PTSD (Solomon, Kotler, Shalev, & Lin, 1989), whereas others view partial or subthreshold diagnoses as potential risk factors for delayedonset PTSD (Carty, O'Donnell, & Creamer, 2006). The latter view is reinforced by our findings of a subgroup of men, still in service, yet with elevated health problems, health-related impairment in functioning, and increased medical service utilization that scored above the cut-off point on the SPTSS, but did not receive a SCID diagnosis of PTSD.…”

Conceptual Problems with the DSM‐IV Criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

“…Indeed, the realization that PTSD symptoms, if they occur at all, erupt immediately following exposure to trauma was an important reason for including acute stress disorder in DSM-IV. Almost all cases of apparent delayed onset PTSD turn out to involve either delayed help-seeking or subsyndromic PTSD intensified by exposure to another stressor (Solomon, Kotler, Shalev, & Lin, 1989). Pure cases of delayed onset-exposure to trauma followed by a long period of good adjustment that precedes full-blown emergence of the disorder-are rare to nonexistent.…”

Posttraumatic stress in aging World War II survivors after a fireworks disaster: A controlled prospective study

“…Therefore, it is not clear how to interpret earlier findings. It has been argued by some that delayed onset of PTSD should be labeled delayed recognition or delayed help seeking (Bramsen, 1995;Pary, Turns, & Tobias, 1986;Solomon, Kotler, Shalev, & Lin, 1989). This interpretation is supported by empirical studies that have shown that PTSD is mainly a chronic condition (Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, & Nelson, 1995) and that true late onset or reactivation seems to be rare (Port, Engdahl, & Frazier, 2001;Robinson et al, 1990;Solomon et al, 1989).…”