Applying posttraumatic stress disorder MMPI subscale to World War II POW veterans

In order to determine whether the MMPI-PTSD subscale has application for assessing DSM-III diagnosed PTSD among populations other than Vietnam veterans, a group of WWII POWs (N = 69) were given the subscale. Results indicated that the use of the PTSD subscale can be generalized to older veterans; in a small sample of Pacific POWs, PTSD is more common among those from the Pacific theater than those from Europe. However, the subscale fails to distinguish between Pacific and European POW veterans. Difficulties in sampling and confounding stressors are discussed, as well as implications for treatment of WWII veterans.