Psychological and war stress symptoms among deployed and non-deployed reservists following the Persian Gulf War

The present study examined the incidence of war-related psychological distress among Persian Gulf War veterans. A total of 591 Army, Navy, and Marine reservists were administered the Mississippi PTSD Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the SCL-90R. Combat-deployed reservists showed significantly higher levels of psychological symptomatology that non-deployed reservists, generally corresponding to levels of stress exposure. No significant effects were found for race or prior combat exposure, but significant differences were found between combat-deployed male and female reservists. Despite the brevity and the outcome of the Persian Gulf War, significant symptomatology exists among this population.