Examining Relationships Among Ethnicity, PTSD, Life Functioning, and Comorbidity in Female OEF/OIF Veterans

There is much literature on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and male combat veterans, but little on PTSD by gender and ethnicity among women combat veterans. We examine ethnic differences in PTSD and comorbid disorders among 37 Hispanic, 27 White, and 15 Native female Operaton Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) combat veterans. Participants completed the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Axis I (SCID-Axis I and II), Life Events Checklist (LEC), Military Stress Exposure Questionnaire (MSEQ), and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36). Hispanics differed from Whites in having less education, more trauma exposure, higher levels of PTSD, mood disorder comorbidity, and poorer physical and emotional functioning. Natives differed from Whites with more trauma exposure, higher levels of PTSD, poorer emotional functioning, and higher rates of Cluster B PDs.