Photo credit: Barrett, MFRI
Award winning study found childhood maltreatment strongest predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms in service members and their spouses.
New York, NY – Military service members and their spouses have higher rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) than the general population, but relatively few studies have looked beyond military-specific stressors to account for the disparity. For a study that found childhood maltreatment was the strongest predictor of PTSS for both service members and their spouses, a team led by Associate Professor Kathrine Sullivan received the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University’s 2024 Barbara Thompson Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award.
“Findings related to the association between stressor exposure and PTSS have substantive implications for military health providers and policymakers as well as theoretical implications for understanding stress processes more generally,” wrote Dr. Sullivan and colleagues. In particular, they highlighted the need for providers to assess military couples for childhood maltreatment and to provide services to the whole military family.
The award winning paper, “Early and recent military and nonmilitary stressors associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms among military service members and their spouses,” was published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress in October 2023. It was co-authored by Yangjin Park, PhD ’22, of the University of Texas at Arlington, Sabrina Richardson of the Naval Health Research Center and Leidos, Inc., Julie Cederbaum of USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Valerie Stander of the Naval Health Research Center and NYU Silver Professor Emeritus James Jaccard.
Using linked data from a survey of married military couples and Department of Defense records, Dr. Sullivan and colleagues conducted a secondary analysis examining stress processes among 3,314 service members and their spouses. They looked at the effects of childhood maltreatment, recent nonmilitary stressors (e.g., financial difficulties), and recent military stressors (e.g., deployment) on self-reported PTSS. They employed a “stress process framework,” which considers how stressors experienced across the life course combine to affect outcomes.
The study found that childhood maltreatment not only strongly predicted PTSS among both service members and their spouses, but it also magnified the effects of nonmilitary stressors on PTSS. Nonmilitary stressors were also independently associated with PTSS for both service members and their spouses. Moreover, “crossover effects” were observed, with spouse childhood maltreatment and nonmilitary stressors significantly predicting service member PTSS, and service member maltreatment predicting spouse PTSS. In contrast, military stressors were less consistently associated with PTSS, though combat and relocation were related to some outcomes.
Not only was Dr. Sullivan lead author of the award winning paper but she also lead-authored “Pre-and Perinatal Risk Factors for Child Maltreatment In Military Families Across the First Two Years of Life,” which was among the five other finalists.
Established in 2015, the Military Family Research Institute’s Barbara Thompson Award is presented annually to outstanding research efforts that enhance understanding, policies and practices affecting military and veteran families.
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