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ERIC Number: EJ899678
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Oct
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-006X
EISSN: N/A
Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among National Guard Soldiers Deployed to Iraq: Associations with Parenting Behaviors and Couple Adjustment
Gewirtz, Abigail H.; Polusny, Melissa A.; DeGarmo, David S.; Khaylis, Anna; Erbes, Christopher R.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, v78 n5 p599-610 Oct 2010
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 less than 0.001). 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. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iraq
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A