SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT AS PREDICTORS OF PTSD SYMPTOMATOLOGY AMONG US FEMALE PERSIAN-GULF-WAR MILITARY PERSONNEL

Rates and sequelae of sexual harassment and assault among women in a w artime military sample were examined A second goal was to explore the comparative impacts of these stressors and combat exposure on posttrau matic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Army women (n = 160) were interviewed on return from the Persian Gulf War and again 18 to 24 mo nths later Rates of sexual assault (7.3%), physical sexual harassment (33.1%), and verbal sexual harassment (66.2%) were higher than those t ypically found in civilian and peacetime military samples. Sexual assa ult had a larger impact on PTSD symptomatology than combat exposure. F requency of physical sexual harassment war significantly predictive of PTSD symptomatology. Furthermore, the number of postwar stressful lif e events mediated the relationship between physical sexual harassment and symptomatology but was not related to combat exposure. Sexual assa ult, sexual harassment, and combat exposure appear to be qualitatively different stressors for women, with different correlates and mechanis ms of action.