Litz B T, Orsillo S M, Friedman M, Ehlich P, Batres A
National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, VA Medical Center, Boston, MA 02130, USA.
Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Feb;154(2):178-84. doi: 10.1176/ajp.154.2.178.
The end of the Cold War has marked a period when the U.S. military is asked to secure peace under conditions in which peace is tenuous, yet the need for resolution of the conflict is great. Combat-trained soldiers are highly visible and are exposed to threats to their lives, yet are asked to exhibit restraint and neutrality. The psychiatric consequences of peace-keeping duty under these conflicting and volatile conditions have been underresearched. The authors examined the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with exposure to peacekeeping duty in Somalia.
A large cohort of active duty personnel deployed to Somalia (N = 3,461) were surveyed approximately 5 months after their return to the United States. A variety of military service characteristics and exposure variables and PTSD symptoms were examined.
Eight percent of peacekeepers were found to meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD. PTSD symptom severity was best predicted by the rewards of military service, war zone stress, and frustrations with peacekeeping (e.g., restrictive rules of engagement).
It is likely that the mission in Somalia represents a new paradigm of dangerous military operations for the United States. These data suggest that peacekeeping may be difficult to reconcile for some combat-trained soldiers and can create a risk for PTSD.
冷战结束标志着一个时期的到来，在此期间，美国军队被要求在和平局势不稳定但冲突解决需求巨大的情况下维护和平。接受过战斗训练的士兵极易被看到，面临生命威胁，却又被要求保持克制和中立。在这些冲突不断且动荡不安的情况下，维和任务对精神方面的影响一直未得到充分研究。作者调查了与参与索马里维和任务相关的创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的患病率。
一大群被部署到索马里的现役人员（N = 3461）在返回美国约5个月后接受了调查。研究考察了各种军事服役特征、接触变量和PTSD症状。
发现8%的维和人员符合PTSD的诊断标准。PTSD症状严重程度的最佳预测因素是军事服役回报、战区压力以及维和过程中的挫折感（如交战规则受限）。
索马里的任务对美国来说可能代表了一种危险军事行动的新范例。这些数据表明，对于一些接受过战斗训练的士兵来说，维和任务可能难以协调，并且会带来患PTSD的风险。
