Daily exposure to combat‐related cues and posttraumatic stress symptoms among veterans: Moderating effects of peri‐ and postdeployment experiences

Abstract

AbstractOne of the central symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heightened reactivity to trauma cues. The current study used experience sampling to investigate the associations between exposure to combat‐related cues and PTSD symptoms in 93 U.S. veterans who served in support of recent military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. We also examined the effects of peri‐ and postdeployment factors, including exposure to combat, unit support during deployment, and postdeployment social support on PTSD. Participants completed eight brief random surveys daily for 2 weeks using palmtop computers. The results indicated that more daytime exposure to trauma cues was associated with experiencing more PTSD symptoms at the within‐person level, B = 3.18. At the between‐person level, combat exposure, B = 4.20, was associated with more PTSD symptoms, whereas unit support, B = –0.89, was associated with experiencing fewer symptoms. At the cross‐level interaction, unit support, B = –0.80, moderated the association between trauma cue exposure and PTSD symptom count. Contrary to our hypothesis, postdeployment social support, B = –0.59, was not associated with PTSD symptoms. These findings suggest a functional association between exposure to trauma cues and PTSD symptoms among recent‐era U.S. veterans and underscore the importance of unit support during deployment.