| Veterans face readjustment challenges upon their return from deployment. These challenges can have an impact on personal relationships and daily life. Although a body of literature exists on the subject of PTSD and military veterans, little research has been conducted on the differences in resilience to PTSD among Army personnel and their rank, gender, and consecutive combat tours. The exploratory study employed a survey research approach to examine the prevalence of PTSD in returning veterans and examined the differences in their resilience to PTSD. Data was collected through the distribution of three instruments: (a) the ER89 ego-resilience scale, which measured resilience; (b) the PTSD Screening and Diagnostic Scale (PSDS), which measures PTSD; and (c) the demographic questionnaire, which identified the participants' rank, gender, and combat experience (in months). The results obtained from this study revealed that null hypotheses 1 and 3 were not rejected, because there was no significant difference between male and female members of the military in terms of resiliency, and there was no significant relationship between months of combat and resiliency. Null hypothesis 2 was rejected because the ANOVA showed that veterans with junior ranks had significantly lower average resiliency scores than did higher ranked veterans. Although results from correlational analyses found only small or no correlations between gender, age, rank, and combat experience, a counselor should always have an eye on how these demographic factors may possibly relate to PTSD. |
