| Sumario: | Using the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study database, we explored predictors of current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity in 373 female Vietnam veteran health care providers. We derived war-zone stressor scales to encompass general contextual and specific occupational stressors. To assess the comparative impact of war-zone stressors, we included measures of prewar and postwar factors in a multivariate model. PTSD symptom severity was significantly related to war-zone deprivation, dilemmas for health care providers, purposelessness, and unit cohesion. In contrast, the war-zone stressors more clearly identifiable as criterion-A-level traumatic exposure were not directly related to outcome. Results support the clinical relevance of war-zone occupational stressors while emphasizing the predominance of postwar emotional support and life events in the expression of chronic PTSD symptoms among this population.
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