Publication year
2010
Citation Title
Combat-injured service members and their families: The relationship of child distress and spouse-perceived family distress and disruption.
Journal Name
Journal of Traumatic Stress
Journal Volume
23
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
112-115
DOI
10.1002/jts.20488
Summary
Combat-related injuries can have a significant impact, not only on Service members, but also on their families and children. The relationships between family pre-deployment distress, child post-injury distress, Service member injury severity, and family post-injury disruption were examined. Higher family pre-deployment distress and family post-injury disruption, but not injury severity, were associated with greater child post-injury distress.
Key Findings
Spouses who reported high deployment-related family distress prior to a combat-related injury also reported high child distress after the injury.
Spouses who reported high family disruption after the injury were more likely to report high child distress, even after controlling for deployment-related distress.
Service members' combat injury severity was not associated with child distress.
Implications for Program Leaders
Conduct routine screenings of family distress during the deployment cycle and refer at-risk families to appropriate services
Educate Service members about the effects combat-related injury can have on families during post-deployment trainings (e.g., spouse and military member briefings)
Offer workshops for youth of injured Service members that provide social support, monitor child and family distress, and provide resources about concerns raised by youth
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage collaboration between agencies and programs serving military families that could aide in the identification of distressed and at-risk families throughout the deployment cycle
Continue to develop and maintain evidence-based programs that educate injured Service members about reintegration, interaction, and communication within families after a deployment-related injury
Recommend education for professionals working with military families around the possible effects of combat injury on Service members’ families
Methods
Spouses of combat-injured Service members were recruited during routine clinical evaluations 1-12 weeks post-injury at two military medical centers, between June 2006 and May 2008.
Spouses completed semi-structured interviews about Service members' injuries and the impact on the family and child, specifically distress and disruption.
Relationships between family pre-deployment distress, child post-injury distress, injury severity, and family post-injury disruption were examined.
Participants
Participants included 41 spouses (M = 29.6 years, SD = 7.7) of male, combat-injured Service members (M = 29.9 years, SD = 8..5).
Service members were injured during deployment to Iraq (92%) or Afghanistan (8%), were primarily Active Duty (89%), and had mostly moderate to severe injuries (93%).Military branch data were not provided.
Service members' most common injuries were multitrauma (78%), amputation (32%), and traumatic brain injury (24%).
Limitations
Spouses' report of family distress and disruption, child distress, and injury severity could have been biased by their own distress and level of functioning.
Families who agreed to participate may have differed from those who did not, including having differing levels of distress, disruption, or Service member injury severity.
Other untested variables (e.g., child social or academic difficulties, recent moves, parent mental health status) could have influenced results.
Avenues for Future Research
Conduct a longitudinal study to understand how child distress changes at each stage of deployment and long-term post-injury
Investigate whether spouses and children of injured Service members have access to and awareness of services, programs, and/or practitioners prepared to support their unique needs and challenges
Examine how parent distress and parent mental health concerns may impact child's distress following Service member injury
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Combat injury in military service members affects both child and family functioning. This preliminary study examined the relationship of child distress postinjury to preinjury deployment-related family distress, injury severity, and family disruption postinjury. Child distress postinjury was assessed by reports from 41 spouses of combat-injured service members who had been hospitalized at two military tertiary care treatment centers. Families with high preinjury deployment-related family distress and high family disruption postinjury were more likely to report high child distress postinjury. Spouse-reported injury severity was unrelated to child distress. Findings suggest that early identification and intervention with combat-injured families experiencing distress and disruption may be warranted to support family and child health, regardless of injury severity.
Abstract Document
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