Commemorating the Vietnam War experience 50 years on: The impact and legacy of traumatic stress research with Vietnam veterans.

Abstract

At the 2024 annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, a panel of three esteemed scientists participated in a discussion of the history and impact of research focused on military veterans who served during the Vietnam War era and the legacy this work has had on the field of traumatic stress in the half-century since that time. Dr. Terence Keane has been at the forefront of traumatic stress research since the beginning and has guided the development of assessment measures, evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the field's understanding of the nature and impact of traumatic stress symptomatology. Dr. Kathryn Magruder has contributed to the understanding of the epidemiology of PTSD and related disorders and played a critical role in examining the long-term health and well-being of women Vietnam veterans. Dr. Frank Weathers has led the development and revisions of multiple measures, including the PTSD Checklist and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, the gold-standard tools for the screening and diagnosis of PTSD. The panel members' experience is wide-ranging, encompassing the study of the etiology of PTSD, contributions to large-scale epidemiological studies of PTSD, multisite clinical trials, and a focus on the reliable assessment of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms. These individuals are leaders in the field who, over the course of their careers, have contributed in important ways to the understanding of trauma and PTSD. This panel discussion offered a retrospective review of the development of the traumatic stress field, with a focus on research specifically conducted with Vietnam veterans and the lessons learned from working with this important cohort of veterans.