Resilience and Health in Repatriated Prisoners of War

Background: In an earlier study, the Robert E. Mitchell Center for POW Studies identified in the 1973 medical/psychiatric database those former, Vietnam-era, repatriated prisoners of war who at the time of captivity viewed their experience as one to survive and overcome, to not ruin their entire lif...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Linnville, Steven E, Segovia, Francine, Moore, Jeffrey L, Hoyt, Robert E, Hain, Robert E
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
DISPOSITIONAL OPTIMISM
HEALTH
LESSONS LEARNED
LINEAR REGRESSION
MENTAL HEALTH
Military Forces and Organizations
PERSONALITY
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
PRISONERS OF WAR
Psychology
REGRESSION ANALYSIS
RESILIENCE
SLEEP
Stress Physiology
SURVIVAL(PERSONNEL)
VIETNAM WAR
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Summary:Background: In an earlier study, the Robert E. Mitchell Center for POW Studies identified in the 1973 medical/psychiatric database those former, Vietnam-era, repatriated prisoners of war who at the time of captivity viewed their experience as one to survive and overcome, to not ruin their entire life once freed (known as dispositional optimism), these repatriates did not suffer from any psychiatric illnesses 37 years after their POW experience. This follow-up study added new mental, physical, biological data collected in 2011 to 2012 to determine whether dispositional optimism was still linked to their overall state of health today. Results: Dispositional optimism identified in the 1973 time-frame was linked to physical and mental state of health Conclusions: Optimistic repatriates who bounced back from their captivity experience by reporting fewer sleep, post-traumatic stress, and captivity-related medical problems after repatriation have maintained good physical and psychological health 38 years after their prolonged captivity/torture experiences.