Associations of coping processes with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in national guard/reserve service members deployed during the OEF-OIF era

Studies have identified coping processes as one potential factor influencing PTSD in veterans. This study examined the associations between coping, combat exposure, and PTSD among 218 National Guard veterans deployed overseas since 2001. Problem-focused coping was unrelated to combat exposure and PTSD symptoms. In contrast, increased levels of emotion focused coping (EFC) were found in veterans who reported higher levels of combat exposure. Moreover, the severity of combat was a curvilinear moderator of the relation between coping process and PTSD, such that EFC was unrelated to PTSD symptom severity at low levels of combat, associated with higher symptom severity at moderate levels of combat, and associated with lower symptom severity at high levels of combat. These findings indicate that the type and severity of trauma may moderate the association of coping and psychological outcomes, and that these associations might not be linear.