WAR-INDUCED PSYCHIC TRAUMA - AN 18-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF ISRAELI VETERANS

Eighteen years after their participation in the Yom Kippur War, the ps ychiatric status of two groups of Israeli veterans-112 combat stress r eaction casualties and 189 comparable controls-was assessed. Casualtie s had higher rates and greater intensity of posttraumatic stress disor der than did controls, both initially and at 18-year follow-up. Simila rly, intrusion and avoidance tendencies and psychiatric symptomatology were evidenced more often by combat stress reaction casualties than b y controls. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.