title: The many wounds of war: The association of service-related and clinical characteristics with problems with the law in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at higher risk for aggression, hostility, and anger, potentially leading to problems with the law or disciplinary action while in the military. There have been calls for increased consideration of the unique aspects of the judicial system in legal matters with veterans involved. The bulk of the research so far has considered the link between PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and combat exposure, but little is known about the potential role of chronic pain and Military Sexual Trauma (MST) in a veteran's experience of anger, aggression, and discipline while in the military and legal concerns. The present study used retrospective cross-sectional health screening data in a sample of 1250 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to examine the associations of demographic, service-related, and clinical characteristics with self-reported legal problems. A total of 440 veterans (34.6%) endorsed having experienced some type of problems with the law. Independent logistic regression analyses demonstrated that those who screened positive for PTSD, MST, TBI, and clinical levels of pain were more likely to report legal problems; only the associations with positive PTSD (p=0.001) and MST (p=0.007) screens remained significant in multivariate regression analyses. The findings underscore the need for a thorough psychological evaluation when veterans are involved in the legal system with a special emphasis on factors prevalent to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States. Electronic address: autumn.backhaus@va.gov.
authors.forename: Autumn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Backhaus
authors.affiliation: San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, United States. Electronic address: sgholiza@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Shadi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gholizadeh
authors.affiliation: San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, United States; VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego, CA, United States. Electronic address: ktgodfrey@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Godfrey
authors.affiliation: VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego, CA, United States; La Jolla Outpatient Mental Health Services, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, United States. Electronic address: james.pittman@va.gov.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pittman
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, United States; VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, San Diego, CA, United States; University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States. Electronic address: niloofar.afari@va.gov.
authors.forename: Niloofar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Afari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000523:psychology; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Aggression; Problems with the law; Veterans