WAR VETERANS' QUALITY OF LIFE: THE IMPACT OF LIFETIME TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH-RELATED CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cross-sectionaldifferences in self-reported psychological symptoms, life-timeexposure to traumatic events, coping styles, personality traits andoverall quality of life between the PTSD and non-PTSD CroatianWar veterans. A total of 113 subjects within the three groupsparticipated in the study (veterans with PTSD, non-PTSD veteransand controls). Veterans with PTSD assessed both combatexperiences and exposure to other life-time traumatic events asextremely stressful, much more so than veterans without PTSD orcontrol subjects. Scores among the non-PTSD veterans weresimilar to the control subjects, except on the M-PTSD scale, scaleof psychosomatic symptoms and coping by avoidance. Intensityof PTSD, extraversion and active coping were individuallysignificant in explaining the total QoL (p<0.01). This studyshowed that veterans with PTSD became extremely vulnerable tolifetime stress events.