Suchergebnisse

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, military service in the United States has been linked to a range of behavioral health and physical injuries in a significant number of the almost three million service members who have returned from wartime deployment. These injuries have occurred in the larger context of wartime military service, which is characterized by an array of stressors that have been associated with increased risk for behavioral health problems not only for service members but also for their family members. For the past 15 years, military-connected (defined as active-duty, reserve component, and veteran) family members have shared their own experiences of military service, including multiple deployments in the context of danger, high operational stress within their communities, and living with the physical and behavioral health injuries and ongoing care needs of a loved one. This article provides an overview of the evolving research on the specific impact of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other war zone–related behavioral health problems among families in the context of contemporary warfare, as well as research on the impact of family adjustment on veteran recovery and care. We propose an empirically supported, family-centered framework to inform a continuum of prevention and care for veterans with PTSD and their families. Gaps in the current continuum of behavioral health services for veterans with PTSD are identified, as well as efforts underway to develop trauma-informed, family-centered screening, prevention, and treatment approaches. Future research recommendations are provided.

This study aimed to examine: (1) the relationship between parental psychopathology and child psychopathology in military families and (2) parenting sense of competence as a mediator of the relationship between veteran psychopathology and child psychopathology. As part of their standard clinical evaluations, 215 treatment-seeking veterans who reported having a child between the ages of 4 and 17 were assessed for psychopathology (posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and stress), their sense of competence as a parent, and their child's psychopathology (internalizing, externalizing, and attentional symptoms). A path analysis model examining parenting sense of competence as a mediator of the relationship between veteran psychopathology and child psychopathology showed significant indirect effects of veteran depression on all child psychopathology outcomes via parenting sense of competence. Parental sense of competence may be a critical mechanism linking veteran depression and child psychopathology, and may therefore be an important target for intervention.