Posttraumatic stress disorder and the perceived consequences of seeking therapy among U.S. Army special forces operators exposed to combat

Abstract The goal of this study was to ascertain the level of PTSD symptoms experienced by Special Forces Operators (SFOs) who have been exposed to combat and compare these rates to the PTSD rates of the general U.S. population and general military population. A secondary goal was to discover whether SFOs were aware that therapy was available to them through the U.S. Army and, if so, whether they would seek this therapy for PTSD. The last goal was to discover whether SFOs who chose not to seek therapy while still serving did so because they feared negative consequences. Data were collected from 68 SFOs who had been exposed to combat. Results indicated that SFOs are experiencing symptoms of PTSD at a rate that is higher than that of the general U.S. population and somewhat lower than that of the general military population. Also, results indicated that a large percentage of the sample would not seek treatment for PTSD due to perceived negative consequences.