PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION1

DISCUSSION1

Literature Review1

Hypothesis Statements3

Hypothesis 13

Hypothesis 23

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY4

Participants4

Procedure4

Materials5

1.Questionnaires5

2.Interviews6

HYPOTHESIZED RESULTS6

REFERENCES8

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Introduction

In United States, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) began to receive considerable attention after the Vietnam War. The experts reported that up to 30% of Vietnam veterans were facing mental problems and issues. More recently, the estimates for soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq combat with PTSD symptoms run even higher. This problem is of utmost importance as it directly affects the security of our nation. There has been an increase in efforts related to find treatments and solutions for PTSD. The matter has been taken up seriously by American public, policy makers and media. Grave concerns related to the mental health issues of military personnel soldiers has provoked political action, with President Obama declaring the plan to aid the diagnosis of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that they can receive state health benefits.

Discussion

Literature Review

A broad analysis done to the writings on PTSD, mental health, and military service points out that serving soldiers, predominantly serving, or have previously served, in combat wars of Afghanistan and Iraq; face significant psychological health issues (Jaycox and Tanielian, 2008). The review concludes that almost 26 percent of serving soldiers, returning from the combats of Afghanistan and Iraq, suffer from alcohol and drug dependency, depression, or homelessness. It provided that the PTSD rate ranges up to 45 percent for soldiers who have served in recent combat wars of Aghanistan and Iraq (Tanielian and Jaycox, 2008).

It is difficult to differentiate the military service's psychological health effects service from associations because of unclear distinctiveness of soldiers; and is an intimidating task. This difficulty is empirical, and it also becomes a large obstacle for policymakers who aspire to predict the cost of mental health care related arising due to combat. For example, Jaycox and Tanielian (2008) finds cost estimate, of two years, for PTSD; by presuming that the combat service effect is same as prevalent rate of PTSD among deployed soldiers. However, the authors assume that the combat soldiers would not be prone to mental health issues, in service absence. They also do not create a comparison group that is counterfactual.

Shabani and Dobkin (2009) points, the normal family and personal environment characteristics of serving soldier are different from that of civilians, and many of these characteristics are connected to mental health. For example, if socioeconomic status is found inversely proportional to the chance of joining the military (Kleykamp, 2006; Segal et al., 1998; Bachman et al., 2000) and directly proportional to mental health, then the soldiers are susceptible to mental health issues despite the absence of combat, making the estimated cost of combat service overstated (Miech et al., 1999). Conversely, since soldiers go through a tough and thorough health selection process prior to commissioning or induction, they are, in most cases, in better physical and mental health condition, as compared to their civilian counterparts.

 Additionally, young individuals with advanced educational ambitions may also join military to earn benefits related to their education, and their families too (Kleykamp, ...