Family Functioning in Recent Combat Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Misuse

Research indicates that veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) face high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that PTSD symptoms are associated with poorer family functioning. This study investigates the relationship of PTSD symptom clusters with functioning domains among OEF/OIF combat veterans while controlling for depression and alcohol use, which are commonly comorbid with PTSD in this population. Participants were 137 OEF/OIF veterans recruited from Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care as part of a longitudinal study examining daily fluctuations in PTSD and alcohol use. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) measured PTSD severity, the Social Adjustment Scale-Self-Report (SAS-SR) measured veteran’s perceptions of family functioning, the Alcohol Use Identification Test (AUDIT) measured hazardous alcohol use, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) measured depression. Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted with 4 family functioning domains from the SAS-SR as criterion variables and relevant sociodemographic/ military variables, alcohol use severity, depression severity, and PTSD symptom cluster severity as predictors. Results indicate that (a) the emotional numbing cluster of PTSD is uniquely associated with functioning in romantic relationships, (b) depression is uniquely associated with poor functioning within the family unit, (c) alcohol misuse is uniquely associated with problems with family outside the home, and (d) more months back from their most recent combat deployment is associated with more family functioning problems. Clinicians treating the mental health concerns of combat veterans should consider the impact of specific mental health symptoms on family functioning