PSYCHOTIC DEPRESSIVE REACTIONS IN SOLDIERS WHO ACCIDENTALLY KILLED THEIR BUDDIES
AARON T. BECK M. C.1, and
SIGMUND VALIN Ph. D.2
1 Chief, Closed NP Section, Valley Forge Army Hospital, Phoenixville, Pa.
2 Chief Psychologist, Territorial Hospital, Kaneoke, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii.
1. A clinical study was made of 5 soldiers who experienced psychotic depressive reactions after shooting and killing their buddies.
2. These patients showed many distortions in their basic character makeup which in most of the cases could be classified as predominantly hysterical with ingrained patterns of action-oriented behavior.
3. The patients uniformly revealed a history of borderline adjustment in civilian life, poor identifications, unstable family backgrounds, and highly ambivalent relationships with other people.
4. The severity of the reaction to the traumatic situation was explained as being related to the presence of unconscious hostility towards the buddy, which produced overwhelming guilt, and their poorly integrated, highly vulnerable personalities. The sources of the unconscious hostility were discussed.
5. The defense mechanisms utilized by the patients were discussed in terms of their efficacy, sequence, and dynamic significance.
