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Full and partial post-traumatic stress disorder among World War II prisoners of war
Angela Favaro1, Elena Tenconi, Giovanni Colombo
1Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Background:
The aim of the study is to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of full and partial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 66 World War II Nazi prisoners of war, some of whom had been deported to death camps.
Methods:
The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV was used to assess the presence of PTSD and major depression. The Dissociative Experiences Scale and the 58-item version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist were also administered. Partial PTSD was defined as the presence of at least one symptom in each of the clusters defined by DSM-IV.
Results:
Forty-eight percent of the subjects have a partial PTSD, while 20% reported the full syndrome. When compared to subjects with full PTSD, those with partial PTSD showed a significantly lower frequency of comorbid depression and lower levels of psychological distress, as measured by the Symptom Checklist. No differences were found with regards to dissociative symptoms and help-seeking.
Conclusions:
The problem of definition of PTSD partial syndromes deserves more attention in the literature.
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