Science article asks: Are we winning the war against PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been one of the military’s top priorities in the past few years, especially after reports of projected rates as high as 30% in veterans. However, a May 2012 Science article points to new findings that might indicate lower PTSD rates currently across all services—between 2.1 and 13.8%. Taking into consideration under-reporting due to stigma, the authors suggest these low rates might be due to the targeted attention that PTSD has received, along with interest in bolstering Warfighter resilience. The article cites the military’s adoption of resilience programs such as “Battlemind” as possible contributors to these low rates. The authors recommend more in-depth research to determine the effectiveness of such programs.