EFFECTS OF A VIETNAM-WAR MEMORIAL PILGRIMAGE ON VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER

We compared the scores of Vietnam veterans in treatment for posttrauma tic stress disorder on the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttr aumatic Stress Disorder just before, just after, and 6 months after th ey participated in a pilgrimage to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washing ton, DC. Significant short-term improvement was reported on Mississipp i total scores and on 10 of its 35 items. The number of items showing significant improvement between the initial assessment and the 6-month follow-up did not exceed chance, but significant variance increases a ppeared on 8 of 35 items. This suggests that the pilgrimage led to a) short-term improvements on several posttraumatic stress disorder sympt oms and b) longterm improvements for some participants, but equally la rge exacerbations for others on a subset of symptoms.