Long‐term effects of coping with extreme stress: Longitudinal study of Vietnam‐era repatriated prisoners of war

Abstract

Captivity stressors and coping strategies were assessed shortly after the repatriation of Vietnam-era prisoners of war, and physical and mental health were assessed almost three decades later. Given research on coping goodness-of-fit, specifically the extent to which coping effects depend on situational controllability, we proposed that endorsement of the usefulness of avoidance-based strategies in captivity would be predictive of better later-life health. Findings indicated that approach-based and avoidance-based coping both moderated the link between physical torture and later physical health functional status, whereas approach-based coping moderated the link between injuries at capture and later mental health. Specifically, greater endorsement of avoidance-based coping was associated with better long-term physical health for prisoners who experienced the most physical torture. Lower endorsement of approach-based coping was associated with better long-term mental health for prisoners who reported the most injuries at the time of capture.

The Impacts of Service Related Exposures on Trajectories of Mental Health Among Aging Veterans

“…Therefore, it is not clear which experiences are most salient in predicting mental health for older veterans. While SREs are studied in the short term among 24-33 yearold All Volunteer Force (AVF) veterans (Cesur, Sabia, & Tekin, 2013); longitudinally for physical health outcomes among older conscript-era veterans (Taylor et al, 2016); and longitudinally for health outcomes of repatriated prisoners of war (Kaiser et al, 2011;King et al, 2015;Park, Kaiser, Spiro, King, & King, 2012), they have yet to be examined using longitudinal, population representative data with respect to mental health outcomes in later life (MacLean, 2013).…”

Cumulative trauma and midlife well-being in American women who served in Vietnam: effects of combat exposure and postdeployment social support

“…Women who were older and who had served longer reported having stronger perceived social support after returning from Vietnam as well as having less severe mental health symptoms and higher mental HRQOL. The older women in the sample may have benefited from increased maturity at the time of the traumatic exposures (Kaiser et al, 2011) that enhanced their ability to utilize adaptive coping skills, such as drawing on perceived social support, thus promoting these more favorable outcomes.…”

К Проблеме Посттравматического Личностного Роста: Современное Состояние И Перспективы

“…Например, у родителей, потерявших своего ребенка, срабатывает копинг ухода [Henninger, 2014]. Стратегия приспособления взаимосвязана с параметрами психического здоровья у ветеранов, которые получили ранения в момент захвата их в плен [Kaiser et al, 2011].…”