Even when compared with fellow combat veterans — not pencil pushers — soldiers who reported taking others' lives had higher incidences of post-traumatic stress disorder, violent behavior, troubles with daily functioning, and myriad other psychological problems. And these problems have persisted for years.
“Killing, in a variety of ways, turns out to have a wide range of mental health and functioning impacts,” said the study's lead author Dr. Shira Maugen, a staff psychologist at the San Francisco VA. The study was published in a recent edition of The Journal of Traumatic Stress. “We knew [killing] would be important, but we were surprised at the extent to which the effects of being in combat faded in comparison.”
Here's the study's methodology:
