Stiff upper lip not biggest reason behind lower PTSD in UK

Deployment durations, dwell time and the use of National Guards and Reservists is more responsible than anything else, and the DOD knew this. They reported on the fact PTSD would be increased with redeployments but did it anyway just as they knew dwell time would affect the rates as well. Now maybe they will hear this!

Study: British troops less likely to get PTSD
Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Monday, May 17, 2010
British combat troops are far less likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than their American counterparts, The New York Times reported Monday, citing a recent psychiatric study of the British military.

Just 4 percent of Brits who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan exhibit symptoms of PTSD compared with 10 to 20 percent of Americans, though both have seen comparable levels of combat in recent years, according to the study.

“This is truly a landmark study, in its size and rigor, and the findings are surprisingly positive,” said Richard J. McNally, a psychologist at Harvard, told the Times. “The big mystery is why we find these cross-national differences.”
read more here
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=70043