Race and outcome of treatment for veterans suffering from PTSD

This study examines the relationship between racial group membership and psychometrically measured outcomes 4, 8 and 12 months after program entry in a program for veterans seeking treatment for war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Longitudinal assessment data were gathered and used to compare service use, clinicians' improvement ratings and psychometrically assessed clinical change among Black (n = 122) and White (n = 403) veterans treated at six geographically diverse sites. There were no significant differences between Blacks and Whites on any of the clinicians' improvement ratings, or on 13 of the 17 outcome measures. In this prospective study of veterans suffering from long-standing, severe PTSD, no consistent or sustained differences were observed between racial groups, in improvement whether measured as psychometric change or by clinicians' ratings.