HISTORICAL GROUP DEBRIEFING AFTER COMBAT EXPOSURE

Citation
Ay. Shalev et al., HISTORICAL GROUP DEBRIEFING AFTER COMBAT EXPOSURE, Military medicine, 163(7), 1998, pp. 494-498
Citations number
27
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, General & Internal
Journal title
ISSN journal
00264075
Volume
163
Issue
7
Year of publication
1998
Pages
494 - 498
Database
ISI
SICI code
0026-4075(1998)163:7<494:HGDACE>2.0.ZU;2-F
Abstract
Background: Studies of group debriefing after extreme events have fail ed to show a significant long-term effect of this technique. However, the heterogeneity of the interventions studied and the length of time between debriefing and its assessment do not allow a proper interpreta tion of these findings. Objective: This study evaluates the immediate effect of debriefing in Israeli soldiers exposed to combat. Method: Si x small units (N = 39) have undergone historical group debriefing with in 72 hours of exposure. State anxiety, self-efficacy, and combat eval uation were measured before and immediately after the sessions. Result s: Debriefing was followed by reduction in anxiety, improvement in sel f-efficacy, and increased homogeneity of the group. Conclusion: These effects may be attributable to enhancing group cohesion or to a proper beneficial effect of debriefing.