Symptom patterns associated with posttraumatic stress disorder among Vietnam veterans exposed to war trauma.

The authors tested whether the relationship between traumatic stress and posttraumatic stress disorder is captured more accurately by aggregating symptoms, as in DSM-III, or differentiating them into the subtypes of denial and reexperiencing. Their findings indicate that distinguishing between the responses of denial and reexperiencing is an alternative and potentially more useful approach for understanding posttraumatic stress disorder and its origins in war trauma than the comprehensive model proposed in DSM-III. The analysis suggests that biases in the current model of posttraumatic stress disorder may lead to underestimation of its prevalence. The authors conclude that reconsideration of what constitutes the disorder is warranted.