2021/04/05 by Matthew Zefferman, Sarah Mathew · 1 voice
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Cultural Differences and Values #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
paper · pdf · doi:10.1073/pnas.2020430118
openalex publication_date 2021/04/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Military personnel in industrialized societies often develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during combat. It is unclear whether combat-related PTSD is a universal evolutionary response to danger or a culture-specific syndrome of industrialized societies. We interviewed 218 Turkana pastoralist warriors in Kenya, who engage in lethal cattle raids, about their combat experiences and PTSD symptoms. Turkana in our sample had a high prevalence of PTSD symptoms, but Turkana with high symptom severity had lower prevalence of depression-like symptoms than American service members with high symptom severity. Symptoms that facilitate responding to danger were better predicted by combat exposure, whereas depressive symptoms were better predicted by exposure to combat-related moral violations. The findings suggest that some PTSD symptoms stem from an evolved response to danger, while depressive PTSD symptoms may be caused by culturally specific moral norm violations.