Context Matters: Social, Cultural, and Political Dimensions of PTSD Among Vietnam Veterans

This brief article examines the social determinants of mental health for a group of Vietnam veterans who recently received a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, interviews were conducted with Vietnam-era veterans presenting for mental healthcare at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), about 40 years after the Vietnam War. The present data and analyses reflect the subset of participants who received diagnoses of PTSD. Findings reveal how PTSD and related psychosocial suffering cannot be fully understood without attending to the sociocultural and political milieu in which they manifest. Five specific social determinants are presented: war as the specific context of trauma; sociopolitical meanings of the Vietnam War; racism; detrimental norms of masculinity; and ecological hazards. Findings suggest that it is important for clinical practices, community interventions, and policies for PTSD to be understood in historically and socioculturally contextualized ways that do justice to, and seek justice for, people's experiences.