Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
April 2014
Publication Title
Journal of Psychiatric Research
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Mental and Social Health
Abstract
Anger is a common problem among veterans and has been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to improve understanding of how anger and PTSD co-occur by examining gender differences and differences by whether the triggering traumatic event is deployment-related vs. civilian-related in current service members. A representative cohort of Reserve and National Guard service personnel (n = 1293) were interviewed to assess for deployment- or civilian-related traumas, PTSD, and anger. The prevalence of self-reported anger problems was estimated among male (n = 1036) and female (n = 257) service members. Log Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were used to estimate the associations of problems with anger with PTSD and PTSD symptom severity for men and women. Self-reported anger problems were common among male (53.0%) and female (51.3%) service members. Adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) showed associations between anger and PTSD connected to both civilian- and deployment-related traumas (PR were 1.77 (95% CI 1.52–2.05) and 1.85 (95% CI 1.62–2.12), respectively). PTSD symptom severity was also associated with anger. This study was cross-sectional and so a causal relationship between PTSD and anger cannot be established. Problems with anger are common among male and female current Guard and Reserve members. These findings suggest that anger treatment should be made available to current service members and that clinicians should assess anger problems irrespective of gender. Future research should examine the effectiveness of anger treatment protocols by gender.
Recommended Citation
Miranda E. Worthen, S D. Rathod, G. Cohen, L. Sampson, R. Ursano, R. Gifford, C. Fullerton, S. Galea, and J. Ahern. "Anger problems and posttraumatic stress disorder in male and female National Guard and Reserve Service members" Journal of Psychiatric Research (2014).
Comments
Reprinted from the Journal of Psychiatric Research by Worthen M, Rathod SD, Cohen G, Sampson L, Ursano R, Gifford R, Fullerton C, Galea S, Ahern J Code, Anger Problems and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Male and Female National Guard and Reserve Service Members, 1-7, Copyright 2014, with permission from Elsevier. The published version of the article can be found online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.04.004.