Revisiting Dohrenwend et al.'s revisit of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study

Critics of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) suspect that the NVVRS overestimated the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Vietnam veterans. Dohrenwend et al. (2006) confirmed this suspicion. Dohrenwend et al.'s reanalysis of the NVVRS data resulted in a prevalence estimate 40% lower than the original NVVRS estimate. Furthermore, had they required clinically significant functional impairment, the prevalence rate would have been 65% lower than the original NVVRS rate. That is, the current (late 1980s) prevalence estimates for PTSD are 15.2% (original NVVRS), 9.1% (Dohrenwend et al.), and 5.4% (clinically significant functional impairment). The policy implications of these findings are discussed.