Coleman Jennifer A, Ingram Kathleen M, Sheerin Christina M
Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Traumatology (Tallahass Fla). 2019 Dec;25(4):297-302. doi: 10.1037/trm0000201. Epub 2019 May 13.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent mental health diagnoses for veterans. Previous research as well as the minority stress model and transgenerational trauma theories, suggest that race may be associated with PTSD, particularly in veterans. The current study examined whether there were racial differences in symptomology in a sample of combat veterans with PTSD (global and symptom cluster-specific).
Data were collected from male veterans who identified as non-Hispanic Caucasian or non-Hispanic African American ( = 413). Participants completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist- Military version (PCL-M). The PCL-M items were split into four symptom clusters to align with the DSM-5: Re-experiencing, Avoidance, Numbing, and Hyperarousal. It was hypothesized that African American veterans would report more severe global PTSD symptoms and higher levels of hypervigilance.
Findings indicated global PTSD symptoms and three of the four symptom clusters did not differ, although the symptom cluster of Re-experiencing was found to be higher for African Americans compared to Caucasians.
It may be helpful for researchers to broaden their methods of assessing PTSD symptomology, such as to examine specific PTSD symptom clusters, especially when assessing differences by race.
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）是退伍军人中最常见的心理健康诊断之一。先前的研究以及少数群体应激模型和跨代创伤理论表明，种族可能与PTSD有关，尤其是在退伍军人中。本研究调查了患有PTSD的退伍军人样本（总体及特定症状群）在症状学上是否存在种族差异。
数据收集自自我认定为非西班牙裔白人或非西班牙裔非裔美国人的男性退伍军人（n = 413）。参与者完成了创伤后应激障碍检查表 - 军事版（PCL-M）。PCL-M项目被分为四个症状群，以与《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第五版（DSM-5）一致：重新体验、回避、麻木和过度警觉。研究假设是非裔美国退伍军人会报告更严重的总体PTSD症状和更高水平的过度警觉。
研究结果表明，总体PTSD症状以及四个症状群中的三个没有差异，尽管发现非裔美国人的重新体验症状群比白人更高。
对于研究人员来说，拓宽评估PTSD症状学的方法可能会有所帮助，比如检查特定的PTSD症状群，尤其是在按种族评估差异时。
