Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

1430

Date

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Psychology

Concentration

General Psychology

Committee Chair

Meghan McDevitt-Murphy

Committee Member

Leslie Robinson

Abstract

Aftermath of battle experiences, typically defined as non-life threatening situations that a soldier may encounter immediately following a battle, may contribute to adverse mental and physical health outcomes as they are often experienced as distresing. The proposed study examined these experiences and how they affected both general and mental health functioning including PTSD, anxiety, and depression in a sample of 66 Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn Veterans. Bivariate correlations and a series of hierachical linear regressions were conducted to investigate if aftermath of battle experiences, while controlling for combat experiences, contributed unique variance to the association with general and mental health functioning. Hierarchical linear regressions were also conducted to examine if aftermath of battle experiences explains unique variance in symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, beyond the effects of combat experiences. Results showed that aftermath of battle experiences were correlated with worse physical functioning, more role limitations due to emotional problems, less energy/more fatigue, worse well-being, worse social functioning, worse bodily pain, and overall worse general health. Regression analyses found that aftermath of battle experiences were associated with role limiations due to emotional problems, less energy/more fatigue, and possibly experiencing poor social functioning beyond the scope of combat experiences. These findings can be used for screening and prevention of negative health outcomes in veterans.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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