Long Term Stability of Recall of Combat Exposure in Australian Vietnam Veterans

Abstract: Accurate recall of exposure to traumatic events is essential for diagnosis,  treatment  and  compensation.  However, in the context of military combat, reports of trauma exposure may not be stable over time. Increased reporting over repeated assessments has been associated with PTSD and its re-experiencing  (B)  symptoms. Other competing explanations emphasise poorer health. This study  reports  on  388  Australian  Vietnam  veterans who were interviewed 21 and 36 years after repatriation. Combat exposure was assessed using a 21- item American scale. PTSD and the symptom clusters were assessed with standardised psychiatric diagnostic interviews, and self-administered measures of health were included. Although total combat scores were highly correlated across the two assessments (r =.865), stability of individual items differed widely. Sixty-eight per cent of responses were stable, 17.5% were unstable increased reports, and 14.5% were unstable decreased reports. In hierarchical regression analyses, combat was the strongest predictor of stable reports but a weaker predictor of increased and decreased reports. Having a history of PTSD, particularly intrusion symptoms, significantly predicted stable reports. A history of PTSD was a significant but weaker predictor of increased reports of combat exposure. Suggestions of intrusive symptoms and poorer health as explanations of increased reports of exposure were not supported.