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• Latinx ethnicity moderated associations between obesity and mental health. • In Latinx veterans, obesity associated strongly with externalizing disorders. • In White veterans, obesity associated strongly with internalizing disorders. • Obesity associated more strongly with PTSD in Latinx vs. White veterans. • Obesity linked to higher hostility and loneliness in Latinx veterans. Obesity disproportionately affects Latinx communities and is linked to an increased risk of mental health problems. Military veterans are more likely to develop mental health problems, but the role of Latinx ethnicity in moderating the association between obesity and these problems is unclear. To address this gap, this study examined psychiatric and psychosocial correlates of obesity in a nationally representative sample of Latinx and White U.S. military veterans. Data were analyzed from the 2019–2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed 3524 Latinx and White veterans. Analyses revealed that Latinx ethnicity moderated associations between obesity and several measures. Specifically, among veterans with obesity, Latinx veterans had higher rates of major depression, generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, drug use disorders, non-suicidal self-injury, and higher levels of childhood trauma, loneliness, and hostility relative to White veterans. These findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive prevention and treatment efforts to help mitigate symptoms of internalizing disorders, drug use disorder, loneliness, and hostility, and to cultivate psychosocial resources such as resilience and coping self-efficacy among Latinx veterans with obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed secondary analyses of existing ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data to characterize hostile and irritable affect in the day-to-day experience of 52 smokers with, and 65 smokers without, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMA monitoring occurred over a mean of 8.2 days, and participants responded to an average of 2.8 random prompts/day. Analyses included Wilcoxon rank sum tests of group differences, and path analyses of cross-lagged multilevel models. Participants with PTSD endorsed a significantly higher proportion of total EMA entries indicating hostile affect and irritable affect than did individuals without PTSD. Cross-lagged analyses indicated that over a period of hours, PTSD symptoms significantly predicted subsequent hostile and irritable affect, but hostile and irritable affect did not predict subsequent PTSD symptoms. Findings suggest that day-to-day exposure to PTSD-related trauma cues may contribute to chronically elevated levels of anger-related affect. Such heightened affective arousal may, in turn, underlie an increased risk for verbal or physical aggression, as well as other health and quality-of-life related impairments associated with PTSD. Clinical implications include conceptualizing anger treatment in the broader context of trauma history and symptoms, and specifically targeting physiological arousal and maladaptive hostile cognitions triggered by trauma reminders in patients with PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hostility is associated with substantial mental and physical health consequences. Population-based data regarding the nature and longitudinal course of hostility in U. S. veterans are scarce. We analyzed data from 2157 U. S. veterans who participated in the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, a nationally representative, prospective cohort study of U. S. veterans. We identified the prevalence of longitudinal courses of hostility (chronic, increasing, decreasing, or no hostility). We then evaluated relationships between sociodemographic, risk, and protective correlates measured at baseline and longitudinal courses of two aspects of hostility—aggressive urges and difficulties controlling anger. The majority of veterans (61.2%) reported experiencing difficulties controlling anger and a sizable minority of veterans (23.9%) reported experiencing aggressive urges over a two-year period. Protective psychosocial characteristics (e.g., optimism) and aspects of social connectedness (e.g., secure attachment style) were negatively associated with hostility. Psychological distress predicted all symptomatic hostility courses, while alcohol misuse predicted chronic aggressive urges and all symptomatic courses of difficulties controlling anger. These findings provide the first known population-based evaluation of the prevalence, course, and risk and protective correlates of hostility in U. S. veterans, and suggest targets for prevention and treatment efforts that can help mitigate risk for hostility in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Man-made traumatic events such as combat and terrorism may cause individuals to develop various forms of psychopathology, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. Veterans who engage in combat experienced negative emotions such as anger, hostility and aggression. Forgiveness may buffer these feelings and prevent the development of psychiatric problems, in that it is a way of decreasing negative feelings and increasing positive feelings. The aim of the current study was to examine the mediating role of anger and negative affect on the relationship between forgiveness and both PTSD and depression co-morbid to PTSD among Turkish veterans who were exposed to combat experience because of terrorist attacks during their compulsory military service. Two hundred and forty-seven injured veterans participated in this study. Veterans were assessed using the Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist (TSSC), Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). A path analysis supported the hypothesized model that both anger and negative affect fully mediated the relationship between forgiveness and both PTSD and depression co-morbid to PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female Veterans are the fastest growing demographic group in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Moreover, suicide rates in female Veterans are increasing, making suicide in female Veterans a topic of vital clinical and research significance. The current study examined the association between suicide, aggression, and mood symptoms by sex. Participants consisted of 264 Veterans (female=54, male=210) ages 18-55. Veterans completed well-validated measures of suicidal behaviors, aggression, anxiety, and depression. Male Veterans reported higher physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility, and total aggression compared to female Veterans. In male Veterans, lifetime suicidal behavior including ideation and attempts was correlated with total aggression and subscales of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. However, in female Veterans lifetime suicidal behavior was significantly associated with hostility and anger. There were no between-group differences in measures of suicidal behaviors, anxious or depressive symptoms. These results suggest important differences in the association between aggression and suicidal behavior by sex. These data have significant clinical implications, as males with aggressive traits and females who endorse hostility and anger may be more likely to engage in suicidal behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]