The effects of wounds of war on family functioning in a National Guard sample: An exploratory study

When a service member is injured in the line of duty, whether the injury is physical, psychological, or a combination, family members and relationships are impacted. This chapter looks at the etiology of self-reported deployment injury among a sample of National Guard service members who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan between 2006 and 2009. This study explores how physical injuries relates to family functioning and mental health outcomes in the early post deployment phase of reintegration. In particular, we were interested in service members’ and spouses’ reports of relationship adjustment and parenting stress, and how families with a self-reported injury fared in comparison to families without an injury. Preliminary findings with this sample suggest that a deployment injury may have more of an effect on the service members’ mental health and parenting stress than on their spouse or significant other at this early readjustment period.