Survivors of a Kamikaze Attack: PTSD and Perceived Adjustment to Civilian Life

Abstract

30 survivors of the U.S.S. Emmons (M age = 81.3 yr., SD = 2.3), which was sunk by kamikaze attacks during World War II, were given an adapted form of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian and a set of questions regarding the effects of their World War II experiences on seven clusters of 42 interpersonal and personal characteristics (Adjustment Characteristics). Participants were categorized into two groups, those who served on the Emmons at any given time during World War II (Any Service), and those who were serving on the Emmons when it was sunk during the battle for Okinawa (Okinawa). Analyses using Mann-Whitney U tests indicated that the Okinawa group reported higher checklist scores, but the scores were unrelated to 41 of the 42 Adjustment Characteristics. Also, Spearman rank-order correlations were statistically insignificant for all comparisons between checklist scores and Adjustment Characteristic clusters, and the total number of positive responses to the 42 characteristics. In contrast, Mann-Whitney U and chi square analyses comparing the Any Service and Okinawa groups indicated statistically significant differences for 14 Adjustment Characteristics, 4 clusters of those characteristics, and the total number of positive responses: The Okinawa group reported poorer outcomes in each comparison. Many of these differences were among Adjustment Characteristics evocative of the attributes of Lee's Agape love style. The findings suggest that for the survivors of the Emmons, the presence or absence of a traumatic event was a better predictor of adjustment to civilian life than the reported severity of PTSD symptoms.