Life Events and Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Intervening Role of Locus of Control and Social Support

This study examined the relationships of (a) life events, locus of control, and social support and (b) the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following breakdown in combat. The sample consisted of 255 Israeli soldiers who suffered a combat stress reaction (CSR) episode during the 1982 Lebanon War and were followed 1 and 2 years after their participation in combat. Correlational analyses reveal significant relationships between PTSD 1 year after war, on the one hand, and life events, locus of control, and social support reported 1 year later, on the other. Accordingly, life events, locus of control and social support were found to be cross-sectionally associated with the severity of PTSD 2 years after the war. However, regression analyses show that after prior PTSD was controlled for, the direct contributions of life events and locus of control to PTSD did not reach significance. In fact, social support measures were the only variables that significantly contributed to PTSD after their redundancy with the other variables and their relations with prior PTSD were controlled for. Furthermore, it was found that life events influenced PTSD indirectly through their impact on social support. Theoret- ical and methodological implications of the findings are discussed.