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Published Online: November 1953

PSYCHOTIC DEPRESSIVE REACTIONS IN SOLDIERS WHO ACCIDENTALLY KILLED THEIR BUDDIES

AARON T. BECK and SIGMUND VALINAuthors Info & Affiliations

Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 110, Number 5

https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.110.5.347

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Abstract

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.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 110 • Number 5 • November 1953

Pages: 347 - 353

PubMed: 13104673

History

Published in print: November 1953

Published online: 1 April 2006

Authors

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AARON T. BECK

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SIGMUND VALIN

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Chief, Closed NP Section, Valley Forge Army Hospital, Phoenixville, Pa.

Chief Psychologist, Territorial Hospital, Kaneoke, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii.

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PSYCHOTIC DEPRESSIVE REACTIONS IN SOLDIERS WHO ACCIDENTALLY KILLED THEIR BUDDIES

Abstract

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