Classifications of Trauma Exposure and Their Associations With 3-Year Follow-up Psychological Symptoms Among Korean Victims of Disaster: A Latent Class Analysis.

This study aimed to classify patterns of trauma exposure among disaster victims using latent class analysis (LCA) and to examine group differences in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depressive symptoms over three years. Data were obtained from a 3-year panel survey of Korean disaster victims (male = 461, female = 513) who responded to four types of trauma experiences: threatened death, injury or disease, witnessing injury or death, and loss of family or relatives in 2017. The LCA yielded three classes: the low-threat (66.1%), life-threat (29.4%), and multi-threat (4.5%) groups. One-way analysis of variance showed that the multi-threat group had the highest levels of PTSD, depressive, and anxiety symptoms in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms significantly decreased between 2017 and 2018 in the life-threat and multi-threat groups. However, there were no differences between 2018 and 2019 in any groups. These results highlight the importance of early intervention during the proximal period after trauma, particularly in individuals exposed to multiple types of traumatic experiences.

Vulnerability and resilience among older South Korean Vietnam war veterans: A latent profile analysis.

Relatively little is known about South Korean Vietnam War veterans, despite their being the second largest contingent of troops during the Vietnam War. Earlier research found elevated levels (39%) of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in this older population, due to high exposure to combat and malevolent environments (Lee et al., 2020). The present study investigated classes of vulnerability and resilience among older South Korean Vietnam War veterans, using a latent profile analysis (LPA) on PTSD symptoms, late onset stress symptomology (LOSS), and mental well-being (MWB). The sample consisted of 367 older male veterans from South Korea (Mage = 72, SD = 2.66) who completed surveys. The LPA yielded five classes. The largest (38%) was Average (average PTSD, LOSS, and MWB levels), and the second largest (31%) was characterized by Moderate Distress (moderately high PTSD and LOSS, average MWB). A small group (13%) reported Low Affect (low PTSD, LOSS, and MWB levels), and 7% expressed Severe Distress (high LOSS and PTSD levels, average MWB). Only a small percentage (12%) were characterized by Resilience (low PTSD, average LOSS, high MWB). Optimism, positive appraisals of military service, and social support from family, significant others, friends, and military peers were highest among veterans in the Resilience class. To our knowledge, this is the first study of resilience among East Asian military veterans, and more research is needed on how resilience can be improved. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Do different types of war stressors have independent relations with mental health? Findings from the Korean Vietnam Veterans Study.

OBJECTIVE: South Korea had the second largest contingent of soldiers in the Vietnam War, but little is known about their adaptation, especially in later life. Previous work in a different sample found very high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 41%) among Korean Vietnam veterans (KVVs; Kang, Kim, & Lee, 2014), compared to 19-31% for American Vietnam veterans. We explored possible reasons for this high rate of PTSD, as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms, utilizing both vulnerability factors (e.g., war stressors) and protective factors (optimism, unit cohesion, and homecoming experiences). METHOD: The sample included 367 male KVVs surveyed by mail (M age = 72, SD = 2.66). Using hierarchical regressions controlling for demographics, we examined the relative contributions of different types of war stressors and then the protective factors. RESULTS: Combat exposure was significantly associated with the three types of negative psychological symptoms, but their associations became nonsignificant when "subjective" war stressors (malevolent environments, perceived threat, and moral injury) were added. In the final models, malevolent environments were the strongest predictor for all three outcomes. In addition, moral injury was independently associated with PTSD symptoms, while perceived threat was marginally associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Among psychosocial factors, only optimism was negatively associated with the mental health outcomes. CONCLUSION: KVVs had very high rates of combat exposure, but malevolent environments played a more important role in their mental health in later life. These findings suggest the importance of considering adverse environmental factors in understanding PTSD in future studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Life satisfaction of Korean Vietnam War Veterans in later life: A lifespan approach.

The current study examined correlates of life satisfaction among Korean Vietnam War Veterans. The sample included 450 male Veterans from the Korean Vietnam War Veterans Study, surveyed by mail in 2013 (Mean age = 67.4 years old, SD = 3.0). A hierarchical analysis was conducted by entering four blocks of variables: first demographic factors, and then pre-military service, military service, and post-military service variables. Each successive regression analysis showed a significant additional contribution to the variance in life satisfaction. In the final model, Korean Veterans had higher life satisfaction when they were married, had higher monthly income and poorer childhood family environment, appraised their military service in a positive light, and had less stressors after homecoming and better perceived physical health. However, combat exposure and social support after homecoming were not independently associated with life satisfaction in the final model. These results imply that both pre- and post-military service factors, as well as cognitive appraisals of military service, should be considered in understanding the subjective well-being of Korean Vietnam War Veterans in later life.

Is Prick of Conscience Associated With the Sensation of Physical Prick?

"Prick of conscience" is a phrase to express feelings of guilt in both English and Korean. Particularly in South Korea, guilt is metaphorically associated with a sense of touch by pricking. Koreans commonly express feelings of guilt by using the metaphor, "It pricks my conscience." Across three studies, we examined whether prick of conscience (i.e., feelings of guilt) is grounded in bodily experiences of physical prick (e.g., a needle prick), using a sample of Koreans. Participants who recalled past unethical acts were less likely to choose a needle prick rather than medication as a treatment for indigestion, whereas those who recalled ethical acts presented no significant difference in their willingness to receive either treatment (Study 1). Participants who decided to lie sensed the finger prick deeper and felt more pain as compared to those in the truth group or the control group (Study 2). Lastly, participants who had the finger prick rendered harsher moral judgments than participants in the control condition (Study 3). In line with an embodied cognition framework, these findings suggest that prick of conscience is not just a linguistic metaphor but can be embodied as physical sensations in forms of pricking.

Impact of combat exposure on mental health trajectories in later life: Longitudinal findings from the VA Normative Aging Study.

Cross-sectional studies have shown contradictory results concerning the impact of combat exposure on mental health in later life. We examined whether combat exposure influences trajectories of mental health symptoms in older male veterans using longitudinal data collected from 1985 to 1991 in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study (N = 1,105, age range = 40-86 years in 1985). Noncombat veterans showed little systematic change in depressive and anxiety symptoms with age, whereas combat veterans showed U-shaped nonlinear changes, with higher levels in midlife decreasing until the mid-60s and then increasing again in the 70s and 80s. These findings support the notion that military service, and especially combat exposure, is a hidden variable in aging research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Does combat exposure affect well-being in later life? The VA Normative Aging Study.

OBJECTIVE: Combat exposure can have long-term negative effects in later life; although aspects of service may be appraised positively, the long-term positive effects of combat on well-being in later life is largely unknown. METHOD: The sample included 1,006 male veterans from the VA Normative Aging Study, surveyed by mail in 1986, 1990, and 1991 (Mage = 65.5 years, SD = 7.3). They reported on their combat exposure, desirable appraisals of military service, unit cohesion, dispositional optimism, self-rated health, and psychological well-being (PWB), as well as age, military rank, and education. Perceived positive aspects (PPA) of military service was postulated to mediate the effects of combat exposure on PWB. Structural equation modeling was used to examine both mediating and moderating effects. RESULTS: Age, combat exposure, and optimism had independent effects on PPA, but optimism did not moderate the effect of combat exposure on PPA. Combat exposure had only indirect effects on PWB through PPA, controlling for the direct effects of optimism. Education had no direct effects on the positive outcomes but did have indirect effects through optimism. CONCLUSION: Combat exposure contributes to positive well-being in later life, indirectly through positive appraisals, and this effect was independent of optimism. Thus, these results support the idea that combat veterans should be encouraged to focus on positive aspects of military service, which may serve as resilience resources to facilitate optimal aging. (PsycINFO Database Record