Psychological Assessment of Aviators Captured in World War II

Psychological assessments, including administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and structured interviews for Axis I mental disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically, were used to describe 33 World War II (WWII) aviators who were held as prisoners of war (POWs) for an average of 14 months. Results showed more elevated MMPI profile patterns than expected given previous research with pilots ( Butcher, 1994 ) and rates of current and lifetime PTSD at 33%, reasoned to derive from POW trauma. Despite this level of psychopathology, WWII aviator POW survivors were found to be more resilient to captivity effects than age-similar nonaviator WWII POW survivors characterized generally by less advantages in education, military rank, and other personal resources. Compared with aviator former POWs of the Vietnam War studied in their mid-life years ( Ursano, Boydstun, & Wheatley, 1981 ), the present sample appeared to be less psychologically robust.