Citation
Smith, M., Schnurr, P., & Rosenheck, R. (2005). Employment outcomes and PTSD symptom severity. Mental Health Services Research, 7(2), 89-101.
Highlights
- The authors assessed the relationship between male Vietnam-era veterans’ scores on the Clinician-Administered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale (CAPS), a clinically administered scale of PTSD severity, and their employment and earnings.
- The authors analyzed a data set containing demographic characteristics, PTSD symptom severity, employment status, and earnings for 325 male Vietnam-era veterans ages 18 to 54.
- The authors used a multinomial logistic regression framework to estimate the marginal effect of PTSD severity on three categories of employment—no employment, part-time employment, and full-time employment—and a Heckman selection model to estimate effects on earnings.
- The study found that a 10-point increase in the CAPS score was associated with a 5.9 percentage point increase in the probability of unemployment, a 2.1 percentage point decrease in the probability of part-time employment, and a 3.8 percentage point decrease in the probability of full-time work.
Reviewed by CLEAR
October 2015