Department of Psychology, University of Miami, 5665 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 19;14(1):19161. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65826-3.
Exposure to traumatic events is associated with post-traumatic stress symptomology (PTSS) in a variety of populations. PTSS is also associated with self-reported everyday cognitive failures, which are acknowledged attentional lapses experienced in one's naturalistic everyday environment. While a growing literature suggests that PTSS is associated with both traumatic events and attentional functions, little is known regarding similar associations in elite military cohorts, such as Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel. Herein, we investigate if prior combat experience is associated with everyday cognitive failures, while considering the possible mediating role of PTSS. SOF personnel (N = 119) completed self-report questionnaires assessing prior combat experience, PTSS, and everyday cognitive failures. Direct and indirect associations between these metrics were examined using structural equation modeling. Mediation analyses revealed that the correspondence between combat experiences and everyday cognitive failures is mediated by the severity of subclinical levels of PTSS. Such findings suggest that greater attention to subclinical PTSS is warranted due to its significant association with everyday cognitive failures that may contribute to deleterious mission-related failures in high-demand tactical professionals, such as SOF.
创伤性事件的暴露与各种人群中的创伤后应激症状（PTSS）有关。PTSS 还与自我报告的日常认知失败有关，这些失败是在自然日常环境中经历的公认注意力失误。尽管越来越多的文献表明 PTSS 与创伤事件和注意力功能有关，但对于特种作战部队（SOF）等精英军事人员的类似关联知之甚少。在此，我们研究了先前的战斗经验是否与日常认知失败有关，同时考虑了创伤后应激症状（PTSS）可能的中介作用。SOF 人员（N=119）完成了自我报告问卷，评估了先前的战斗经验、PTSS 和日常认知失败。使用结构方程模型检查了这些指标之间的直接和间接关联。中介分析表明，战斗经历与日常认知失败之间的一致性是由亚临床水平 PTSS 的严重程度介导的。这些发现表明，由于亚临床 PTSS 与日常认知失败密切相关，可能导致高要求战术专业人员（如 SOF）的有害任务相关失败，因此需要更加关注亚临床 PTSS。
