Steenkamp, M. M., Boasso, A. M., Nash, W. P., Larson, J. L., Lubin, R. E., & Litz, B. T. (2015). PTSD symptom presentation across the deployment cycle. Journal of Affective Disorders, 176(1), 87-94. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2015.01.043

Nearly 900 Marines participated in longitudinal study to examine symptom-level variations in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) across the deployment cycle (pre- and several post-deployment time points). There was considerable variation in PTSD symptoms at each time point, and symptom patterns stabilized over time.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.01.043

Deployment
Mental health

Marine Corps

Active Duty

Active duty service member

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Empirical Study
Quantitative Study
Longitudinal Study

Steenkamp, Maria M., Boasso, Alyssa M., Nash, William P., Larson, Jonathan L., Lubin, Rebecca E., Litz, Brett T.

Background Symptom-level variation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has not yet been examined in the early post-deployment phase, but may be meaningful etiologically, prognostically, and clinically. Methods Using latent class analysis (LCA), we examined PTSD symptom heterogeneity in a cohort of participants from the Marine Resiliency Study (MRS), a longitudinal study of combat Marines deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (N=892). Typologies of PTSD symptom presentation were examined at one month pre-deployment and again one, five, and eight months post-deployment. Results Heterogeneity in PTSD symptom presentation was evident at each assessment point, and the degree of symptom heterogeneity (i.e., the number of classes identified) differed by time point. Symptom patterns stabilized over time from notable symptom fluctuations during the early post-deployment period to high, medium, and low symptom severity by eight months post-deployment. Hypervigilance and exaggerated startle were frequently endorsed by participants in the initial month post-deployment. Flashbacks, amnesia, and foreshortened future were infrequently endorsed. Greater combat exposure, lifespan trauma, and avoidant coping generally predicted worse outcomes. Limitations Data were self-report and may have limited generalizability due to our lack of women and inclusion of only combat Marines. Attrition and re-ranging of data resulted in significant missing data and affected the representativeness of the sample. Conclusions Symptom-level variability is highest in the month following deployment and then stabilizes over time. Should post-deployment assessments occur too soon, they may capture common and transient early post-deployment reactions, particularly anxious arousal.

Elsevier Science

Article
REACH Publication

New York University School of Medicine, MMS
VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC), Boston University School of Medicine, AMB
Boston VA Research Institute (BVARI), WPN
VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC), Boston University School of Medicine, JLL
VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC), Boston University School of Medicine, REL
VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC), Boston University School of Medicine, BTL