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The impact of childhood abuse and combat‐related trauma on postdeployment adjustment
Author(s) -
Fritch April M.,
Mishkind Matt,
Reger Mark A.,
Gahm Gregory A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20520
Subject(s) - psychiatry , anxiety , anxiety disorder , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , psychology , etiology , poison control , injury prevention , posttraumatic stress , alcohol abuse , medicine , medical emergency , economics , macroeconomics
Abstract This retrospective study examined the effects of childhood physical abuse (CPA) and combat‐related trauma on postdeployment psychiatric symptoms in an outpatient clinical sample of 1,045 U.S. service members. The authors conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine the impact of CPA and combat‐related trauma on alcohol use, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Analyses revealed significant main effects for CPA and combat‐related trauma on anxiety, depression, and PTSD. In contrast, no interactive effects were observed. Findings support and expand current knowledge about the roles that CPA and combat trauma play in the development of psychiatric symptoms and suggest a more complex etiology for postdeployment symptomatology. Clinical implications and future research opportunities are discussed.