TY - JOUR
T1 - Trajectories of suicidal ideation and posttraumatic stress symptoms among former prisoners of war
T2 - A 17-year longitudinal study
AU - Zerach, Gadi
AU - Levi-Belz, Yossi
AU - Solomon, Zahava
PY - 2014/2
Y1 - 2014/2
N2 - War captivity is one of the most severe human-inflicted traumatic experiences with wide and substantial long-term negative effects. However, only one retrospective study examined suicidal ideation (SI) among ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs). This study aimed to prospectively assess SI among ex-POWs and its associations with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms over a 17-year period. Two groups of male Israeli veterans from the 1973 Yom Kippur War were examined: ex-POWs and comparable veterans who were not taken captive. Both groups were assessed via self-report measures of SI and PTSD symptoms at three time points: T1 18 (1991), T2 30 (2003), and T3 35 (2008) years after the war. Latent growth curve modeling (LGM) results showed that ex-POWs reported higher levels of SI at T2 and T3 and a pattern of increase in SI levels trajectory over time, compared to control veterans. Furthermore, among ex-POWs, PTSD symptoms at T1 contributed to the increase in rate of change in SI overtime. In addition, PTSD symptoms affected SI at the same measurement, above and beyond above the trajectories of SI. Clinical implications of these findings for the relations between captivity trauma and suicidality are discussed.
AB - War captivity is one of the most severe human-inflicted traumatic experiences with wide and substantial long-term negative effects. However, only one retrospective study examined suicidal ideation (SI) among ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs). This study aimed to prospectively assess SI among ex-POWs and its associations with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms over a 17-year period. Two groups of male Israeli veterans from the 1973 Yom Kippur War were examined: ex-POWs and comparable veterans who were not taken captive. Both groups were assessed via self-report measures of SI and PTSD symptoms at three time points: T1 18 (1991), T2 30 (2003), and T3 35 (2008) years after the war. Latent growth curve modeling (LGM) results showed that ex-POWs reported higher levels of SI at T2 and T3 and a pattern of increase in SI levels trajectory over time, compared to control veterans. Furthermore, among ex-POWs, PTSD symptoms at T1 contributed to the increase in rate of change in SI overtime. In addition, PTSD symptoms affected SI at the same measurement, above and beyond above the trajectories of SI. Clinical implications of these findings for the relations between captivity trauma and suicidality are discussed.
KW - Captivity
KW - LGM
KW - PTSD
KW - Prisoners of war
KW - Suicidal ideation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84891149421&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.11.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.11.003
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C2 - 24280653
AN - SCOPUS:84891149421
SN - 0022-3956
VL - 49
SP - 83
EP - 89
JO - Journal of Psychiatric Research
JF - Journal of Psychiatric Research
IS - 1
ER -