Abstract
Relatively little is known about the course of PTSD symptoms over time following trauma exposure. Accordingly, this study utilized a specialized structural equation modeling approach, growth mixture modeling, to examine the trajectory of PTSD symptoms across three time points in a sample of Gulf War veterans (n at Time 1 2,949, n at Time 2 2,313, and n at Time 3 1,327). Results were most consistent with a two-group model suggesting that the course of PTSD symptoms following the Gulf War was best characterized by two distinct growth curves: (1) low levels of PTSD symptoms with little increase over time and (2) higher levels of initial symptoms with a significant increase over time. Thus, it appears that response to Gulf War experiences is not homogeneous, and that a subset of individuals may experience relatively more PTSD symptoms over time. In addition, men, Whites, those reporting more education, and those reporting less combat exposure had a significantly higher probability of being classified into the less symptomatic group.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 195-202 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Traumatic Stress |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2004 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD and the VA’s Mental Health Strategic Healthcare group. We also thank Susan Proctor and Scott Pickett for their assistance.
Keywords
- Gulf War veterans
- PTSD
- growth mixture modeling
- longitudinal