Publication year
2010
Citation Title
Posttraumatic stress symptoms among National Guard soldiers deployed to Iraq: associations with parenting behaviors and couple adjustment.
Journal Name
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Journal Volume
78
Issue Number
5
Page Numbers
599-610
DOI
10.1037/a002571
Summary
National Guard members' relationships with their partners and children can be impacted by military life. This study examined the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, perceived parenting behaviors, and couple adjustment in the context of social support, deployment injury, and alcohol use by the Service members.
Key Findings
PTSD symptoms negatively impacted both self-reported couple adjustment and perceived parenting behaviors.
Soldiers who sustained injury on deployment reported increased levels of PTSD, which negatively impacted their parenting.
Soldiers who reported PTSD symptoms tended to endorse more problematic alcohol use.
Higher perceived social support prior to returning home from deployment predicted more effective perceived parenting one year later; this social support also appeared to protect these Soldiers from higher rates of PTSD.
Implications for Program Leaders
Educate Service members prior to deployment regarding the importance of maintaining strong support networks during deployment
Offer workshops to help Service members and their partners learn about PTSD, known contributing factors, and how to cope with it after deployment
Disseminate parenting tips for Service members returning from deployment, specifically with regard to parenting during reintegration and in the context of PTSD symptoms
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend the development of parenting classes on installations for Service members who are parents and returning from deployment
Encourage collaboration between the National Guard and Military Reserve command structure to develop and support services for National Guard and Reserve Service members with PTSD symptoms
Recommend professional education on combat-related PTSD for professionals who work with Service members and their families, especially community-based professionals working with National Guard or Reserve Service members
Methods
Data were collected via self-report questionnaires that were administered to the Soldiers at two time points: Time 1 was one month prior to returning home and Time 2 was one year after returning home.
Information gathered at Time 1 included PTSD symptoms and social support and data gathered at Time 2 included PTSD symptoms, problematic alcohol use, perceptions of parenting behaviors, couple adjustment, and physical injury sustained during deployment.
Demographic variables that were known to impact the study variables were also measured to ensure they did not confound the outcomes: previous deployment status, race/ethnicity, and number of minor children in the home.
Participants
Participants included 468 male National Guard Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry, deployed to Iraq (OIF) from March 2006 to July 2007. Average deployment period was 16 months and 60% had been previously deployed at least once. No rank data were provided.
The participants were part of a larger study of the entire brigade combat team, but only Soldiers who endorsed being a father were included in this study.
Participants were on average 36 years old, 74% were married, and the average number of minor children in the home was 1.35. Participants were White (89%), Black (5%), and Latino (6%).
Limitations
The study utilized one specific Army National Guard combat brigade team, which may limit the generalizability of the results to other National Guard units or other military branches.
Self-report questionnaires were the only source of data, meaning that Soliders' personal bias or social desireability could have impacted their answers, impacting the validity of the data.
While some variables were measured at both Time 1 and Time 2 (i.e., PTSD symptoms), most were only measured at one time or the other, meaning causality cannot be determined.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine similar data points with female Service members who are mothers, as well as with racial/ethnic minority populations
Investigate the relationship between combat-related PTSD, parenting behaviors, and child adjustment
Utilize multiple methods of data gathering (e.g., observational measures of parenting, spouse and child reports) to improve validity
Focus
National Guard
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Objective: In this article, we report findings from a 1-year longitudinal study examining the impact of change in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following combat deployment on National Guard soldiers’ perceived parenting and couple adjustment 1 year following return from Iraq. Method: Participants were 468 Army National Guard fathers from a brigade combat team (mean age 36 years; median deployment length 16 months; 89% European American, 5% African American, 6% Hispanic American). Participants completed an in-theater survey 1 month before returning home from Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment (Time 1) and again 1 year postdeployment (Time 2). The PTSD Checklist—Military Version (PCL–M; Weathers, Litz, Herman, Huska, & Keane, 1993) was gathered at both times, and 2 items assessing social support were gathered at baseline only. At Time 2, participants also completed self-report measures of parenting (Alabama Parenting Questionnaire—Short Form; Elgar, Waschbusch, Dadds, & Sigvaldason, 2007), couple adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale—7; Sharpley & Rogers, 1984; Spanier, 1976), parent– child relationship quality (4 items from the Social Adjustment Scale—Self-Report; Weissman & Bothwell, 1976), alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; Babor, Higgins-Biddle, Saunders, & Monteiro, 2001), and items assessing injuries sustained while deployed. Results: Structural equation modeling analyses showed that increases in PTSD symptoms were associated with poorer couple adjustment and greater perceived parenting challenges at Time 2 (both at
p .001). Furthermore, PTSD symptoms predicted parenting challenges independent of their impact on couple adjustment. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of investigating and intervening to support parenting and couple adjustment among combat-affected National Guard families.
p .001). Furthermore, PTSD symptoms predicted parenting challenges independent of their impact on couple adjustment. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of investigating and intervening to support parenting and couple adjustment among combat-affected National Guard families.
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