Veterans' Distress Related to Participation in a Study About Detainee Abuse

Authors: Gariti, Katherine O.1; Sadeghi, Leila2; Joisa, Sowmya D.3; Holmes, William C.4

Source: Military Medicine, Volume 174, Number 11, November 2009 , pp. 1149-1154(6)

Publisher: AMSUS - Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content

Abstract:

ABSTRACT

Unintended consequences of participating in research studies are not well characterized, particularly in veterans who are frequent study participants. Our objective, then, was to assess the rate of and variables associated with distress resulting from veterans' participation in a study on a sensitive subject. Veterans Administration (VA) hospital outpatients were administered questionnaires with three increasingly severe scenarios of a U.S. soldier abusing a detainee. Distress—upset requiring clinical intervention—was assessed, as were sociodemographic characteristics, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and locus of control (LOC). Three hundred fifty-one veterans participated. Forty-three (12%) became distressed. Modeling indicated distress was associated with minority status (odds ratio [OR] = 5.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.59, 20.58), PTSD (OR = 2.66, 95% CI = 1.12, 6.29), and external LOC (OR = 6.27, 95% CI = 2.82, 13.90). Distress related to study participation was high in this veteran sample. Higher rates in some subgroups suggested that some individuals may not be able to accurately anticipate risk for harm in sensitive studies.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Mental Health Clinic, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University and Woodland Avenues, Philadelphia, PA 19104. 2: NYU Langone Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016. 3: The Good Samaritan Hospital, 4th and Walnut Streets, Lebanon, PA 17042. 4: Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University and Woodland Avenues, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$20.00 plus tax      Refund Policy

 

OR

Back to top

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content
Share this item with others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Page Help Click here for Page Help
Shopping cart
Tools
Sign in






Need to register?
Sign up here
Text size: A | A | A | A