Objective Versus Subjective Measurement of Stress and Social Support: Combat-Related Reactions

Combat intensity, social support, and related stress reactions were studied among two subject groups: 382 soldiers who experienced combat stress reaction (CSR) during the 1982 Israeli-Lebanon War and a matched control group of 334 soldiers who participated in the same military units but who did not experience CSR. Both objective and subjective indicators of stress and social support were predictive of CSR. Subjective indicators, however, were stronger predictors than objective indicators. Soldiers who later developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more likely to have had CSR, to perceive themselves as having been in more intensive combat, and to have perceived themselves as receiving less social support than soldiers who did not develop PTSD. The CSR was clearly the best predictor of PTSD. The effect of the objective versus the subjective experience of stress and social support is discussed.