Psychiatr Serv 54:84-91, January 2003
© 2003 American Psychiatric Association
Disability Compensation Seeking Among Veterans Evaluated for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
B. Christopher Frueh, Ph.D.,
Jon D. Elhai, Ph.D.,
Paul B. Gold, Ph.D.,
Jeannine Monnier, Ph.D.,
Kathryn M. Magruder, Ph.D.,
Terence M. Keane, Ph.D. and
George W. Arana, M.D.
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to further examine the relationship between compensation-seeking status and reporting of symptoms among combat veterans who were evaluated for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHODS: Archival data were drawn for 320 adult male combat veterans who were consecutively evaluated at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) PTSD outpatient clinic from 1995 to 1999. The veterans were compared on variables from their clinical evaluation, including diagnostic status and self-report measures such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, which includes scales designed to detect feigned or exaggerated psychopathology. RESULTS: Compensation-seeking veterans reported significantly more distress across domains of psychopathology, even after the effects of income had been controlled for and despite an absence of differences in PTSD diagnoses between groups. However, compensation-seeking veterans also were much more likely to overreport or exaggerate their symptoms than were non-compensation-seeking veterans. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided further evidence that VA disability compensation incentives influence the way some veterans report their symptoms when they are being evaluated for PTSD. These data suggest that current VA disability policies have problematic implications for the delivery of clinical care, evaluation of treatment outcome, and rehabilitation efforts within the VA.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
R. Mullen and D. B. Menkes
Psychiatriform Disorders: Psychiatric Analogues of Somatoform Disorders
International Journal of Social Psychiatry,
September 1, 2008;
54(5):
395 - 401.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. C. Frueh, A. L. Grubaugh, J. D. Elhai, and T. C. Buckley
US Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Policies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Administrative Trends and Implications for Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Research
Am J Public Health,
December 1, 2007;
97(12):
2143 - 2145.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. A. Grieger, S. J. Cozza, R. J. Ursano, C. Hoge, P. E. Martinez, C. C. Engel, and H. J. Wain
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in Battle-Injured Soldiers
Am J Psychiatry,
October 1, 2006;
163(10):
1777 - 1783.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. C. FRUEH, J. D. ELHAI, A. L. GRUBAUGH, J. MONNIER, T. B. KASHDAN, J. A. SAUVAGEOT, M. B. HAMNER, B. G. BURKETT, and G. W. ARANA
Documented combat exposure of US veterans seeking treatment for combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder
The British Journal of Psychiatry,
June 1, 2005;
186(6):
467 - 472.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. D. Elhai, J. A. Naifeh, I. S. Zucker, S. N. Gold, S. E. Deitsch, and B. C. Frueh
Discriminating Malingered From Genuine Civilian Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Validation of Three MMPI-2 Infrequency Scales (F, Fp, and Fptsd)
Assessment,
June 1, 2004;
11(2):
139 - 144.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Kroll
Posttraumatic Symptoms and the Complexity of Responses to Trauma
JAMA,
August 6, 2003;
290(5):
667 - 670.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. A. Kimbrell and T. W. Freeman
Clinical Care of Veterans Seeking Compensation
Psychiatr Serv,
June 1, 2003;
54(6):
910 - 911.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
Get information about faster international access.
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2003
American Psychiatric Association.
All rights reserved.
Home
| Search
| Current Issue
| Past Issues
| Subscribe
| All APPI Journals
| Help
| Contact Us
|
