LOWER PRECOMBAT INTELLIGENCE IS A RISK FACTOR FOR POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER

The authors examined the relation between intelligence and posttraumat ic stress disorder (PTSD) by studying the association among precombat intelligence, current intelligence, and self-reported PTSD symptoms. M ilitary aptitude test results were obtained in 59 PTSD and 31 non-PTSD Vietnam combat veterans who had undergone a psychodiagnostic intervie w and current intelligence testing. People with lower precombat intell igence were more likely to develop PTSD symptoms as assessed by the Cl inician-Administered PTSD Scale even after adjustment for extent of co mbat exposure. The association between current intelligence and PTSD w as no longer significant after adjusting for precombat intelligence. T hese results suggest that lower pretrauma intelligence increases risk for developing PTSD symptoms, not that PTSD lowers performance on inte lligence tests.