War veterans are also affected by adverse effects of stresses on combat. Usually symptoms of PTSD are persistent throughought the lifetime and are relatively chronic. For instance, approximately 15% of men and 9% of women who were Vietnamese veterans were found to be affected by chronic PTSD few years after the Vietnam War and these rates are indeed alarming (Irribarren, Prolo, Neagos, & Chiapelli, 2005). Research also suggests that 30% of the people serving in the military develop chronic PTSD (Irribarren et al., 2005). Causes of PTSD can be attributed to risk factors and neurobiological factors. Further, symptoms of PTSD are severely distressful and these are likely to negatively impact a person's life.
There are a number of risk factors that are involved in the likelihood of increasing the development of PTSD. The major risk factor for developing PTSD is experiencing a traumatic situation or an event. Objective factors such as severity, duration, and proximity of the experienced trauma are involved in the prediction of PTSD symptoms. Amongst these intensity of the stress survived is the crucial factor that is associated with PTSD (Breslau, Andreski, & Davis, 1995). On the other hand, subjective factors include perception of the threat and peri-traumatic effect which are highly linked to the onset of PTSD. Generally, personal predisposition is the factor that is likely to be involved in developing symptoms after a traumatic event. Secondly, development of PTSD can be predicted by the resilience or the coping strategies used both during and after the trauma. Studies have shown that people who have symptoms of dissociation immediately after witnessing the traumatic incident are more likely to develop PTSD (Breslau et al., 1995). Higher the symptom of dissociation more the person is at risk of developing this disorder. Sometimes, likelihood of development of PTSD is linked to a family history of anxiety and neuroticism.
