There is a heightened psychological risk conveyed by involvement in wartime atrocities and a recent study suggests that the psychological conditions experienced following atrocity involvement may extend well beyond guilt and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers employed path analysis to examine the direct effects of involvement in wartime atrocities on hostility, aggression, depression, and suicidal ideation independent of combat exposure, as well as the indirect effects via guilt and PTSD symptom severity among 603 help-seeking male Vietnam War veterans. They found:

• Involvement in wartime atrocities was predictive of increased guilt, PTSD severity, hostility, aggression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation after controlling for overall combat exposure.
• Combat-related guilt played a minor role in mediating the effect of atrocity involvement on depression and suicidal ideation.
• PTSD severity had a larger mediational effect, however, it still accounted to less than half of the total effect of involvement in wartime atrocities on hostility, aggression, and suicidal ideation.