Combat-injured service members and their families: the relationship of child distress and spouse-perceived family distress and disruption.
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.
Cozza
Stephen J
SJ
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA. scozza@usuhs.mil
Guimond
Jennifer M
JM
McKibben
Jodi B A
JB
Chun
Ryo S
RS
Arata-Maiers
Teresa L
TL
Schneider
Brett
B
Maiers
Alan
A
Fullerton
Carol S
CS
Ursano
Robert J
RJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D002666:Psychology, Child; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries; D055815:Young Adult