Validation of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder :: Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD

The intention of this study is to validate the issue of PTSD which some have attempted to discredit as a medical condition. To achieve this, the magnitude and incidence rate of the condition requires robust evidence. This study is taking secondary data from the Vietnam Veterans National Readjustment Survey (NVVRS) and developing the analysis further. The technique employed here is Meta analysis which is more typically used for quantitative literature applications. In any analysis of secondary data it is crucial to consider the incidence rates of mental health issues among those who fought in Vietnam. It is also important to differentiate factors between the time periods of their lives before they joined the military, while they served in the military and their lives after they left the forces. It is central to what we are trying to achieve to identify those who might be at high risk of developing PTSD, as people will react in differing ways to different stimuli such as distr essing events or stressful circumstances. Population and Sample The data sample used for this study will be substantial due to the amount of information collected on post traumatic stress disorder. Samples were drawn from the nationwide probability sample of the NVVRS study. The first sample included 479,000 males Vietnam veterans (15.2 % of the total) who met the criteria for current post traumatic stress disorder. The second sample included 7,200 female Vietnam veterans with a current prevalence rate of 8.5%. The third set of samples included 350,000 Vietnam veterans of both genders, with 11.1% male and 7.8% female partial PTSD incidence rates. The last set of samples showed 30.6% of male Vietnam veteran and 26.9% of female veterans who met the criteria for developing PTSD (Kulka et al. 1990). Due to significant time constraints and limited access to information, a decision was made to use a Meta-Analysis. The Meta-Analysis provides a systematic evaluation of the quantitative analysis, which combines and summarizes several different studies. This method offers control over the data analysis, and by using statistical software, it addresses related hypotheses for delivery of precision in the use of codes. The main aim and focus of the Meta-Analysis in this research involves clearly identifying the problem and researching the literature for primary or representative studies. This approach allows for the creation of an appropriate data set for the evaluation, coding and analysis of the data in order to produce a valid analysis of the results.