Lifetime trauma exposure in veterans with military-related posttraumatic stress disorder: association with current symptomatology.

Objective: This study examined whether trauma exposure before, during, and/or after military service contributed to current levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment. Further, we investigated whether trauma exposure before military service was mediated or moderated by military trauma in its effects on current PTSD and adjustment.

Method: In this retrospective study, archival data from the medical records of 422 male veterans diagnosed with PTSD between December 2001 and July 2004 at a Veterans Administration Medical Center PTSD clinic were analyzed.