Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a diagnostic that is studies find more prevalent in war veterans than the rest of the general population. In their research on PTSD, Coleman et al. (2019) examine differences in symptoms in African American and Caucasian male veterans. The hypothesis of the paper was that African American veterans would report more symptoms as compared to Caucasian Americans. The study results indicate a symptom cluster higher for African Americans than Caucasians.
The researchers introduce their paper by citing previous studies done on the topic. They briefly explain the prior study from as early as 1989 to as late as 2019 when it was published. The hypothesis supporting the claim that PTSD affects African American veterans is listed separately to those that oppose and are well cited. Limitations for these studies are also listed where only veterans seeking treatment were sampled. The paper is concluded by making a recommendation that researchers should broaden the methods they use in assessing PTSD.
The study’s strengths included good sample size, suitable means of collecting data, and good questionnaires. The sample had 515 participants initially gathered, but after conducting an inclusion analysis, 413 individuals were used (Coleman et al., 2019). Data was well collected using electrical means and included all relevant user information. Questionnaires used a Likert five-point system which provided ease in analysis. The study’s weakness was that the veterans used were not randomly selected, but only those seeking medication were used. This article would be a reliable source when preparing a capstone project since it is a peer-reviewed journal. It provides a good reference for previous studies and reliable testing procedures. The article is current and contains reliable information because other reliable sources support it. Thus, it will help me understand the consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder in African American Vietnam Veterans.
Reference
Coleman, J. A., Ingram, K. M., & Sheerin, C. M. (2019). Racial differences in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among African American and Caucasian male veterans. Traumatology, 25(4), 297–302. Web.