Testing a Novel Trauma-Informed Treatment for Anger and Aggression Following Military-Related Betrayal: Design and Methodology of a Clinical Trial.

Introduction: Difficulty controlling anger is a common postdeployment problem in military personnel. Chronic and unregulated anger can lead to inappropriate aggression and is associated with behavioral health, legal, employment, and relationship problems for military service members. Military-related betrayal (e.

STRONG STAR and the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD: Shaping the future of combat PTSD and related conditions in military and veteran populations.

The STRONG STAR Consortium (South Texas Research Organizational Network Guiding Studies on Trauma and Resilience) and the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD are interdisciplinary and multi-institutional research consortia focused on the detection, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid conditions in military personnel and veterans. This manuscript outlines the consortia's state-of-the-science collaborative research model and how this can be used as a roadmap for future trauma-related research. STRONG STAR was initially funded for 5 years in 2008 by the U.

Development and initial testing of a brief adjunctive intervention for family members of veterans in individual PTSD treatment.

Family involvement in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans has the potential to improve treatment retention and outcomes. Current protocols that incorporate family members into treatment tend to involve at least 15 sessions, and none are designed to complement Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Prolonged Exposure (PE), the two most widely used and heavily promoted evidence-based PTSD therapies in the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system. The current paper describes the development and initial feasibility and acceptability of a Brief Family Intervention (the BFI) designed to be delivered as an adjunct to veterans' individual CPT/PE.

"This is not your Life…and it becomes your Life": A Qualitative Exploration of Deployment-related Stress and Support needs in National Guard and Reserve spouses who are Mothers of Young Children.

The adverse effects of deployment-related stress (DRS) on military service members, spouses, and children are well documented. Findings from a recent Consensus Report on Military Families by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (2019) underscore the priority of gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of today's military families and their needs and well-being. While social support is generally regarded as helpful during times of stress, it has not been studied extensively in National Guard/Reserve spouses who are parents of young children.

Finding meaning in times of family stress: A mixed methods study of benefits and challenges amongst home-front parents in military families.

Family stress theory explains how demands placed on the family system interact with capabilities to influence family adaptation. One capability that some military families may use naturalistically is that of benefit-finding, the recognition of value and benefit after a stressful or traumatic experience. In this mixed methods study, authors explore the perception of benefits associated with military service amongst 26 home-front mothers.

Examining Rates of Postpartum Depression in Active Duty U.S. Military Servicewomen.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is understudied in military populations. The present descriptive transversal study evaluated the incidence of PPD diagnoses in U.S.

Mothering very young children after wartime deployment: A case report.

Parenting very young children in the context of military service, deployment separations, and war-related trauma can be challenging for many families. Female active duty personnel represent one of the fastest growing segments of the military, and recent policy changes have led women to pursue serving in combat positions at much higher rates. While not much is known about service member mothers, some studies have shown that they experience significant symptoms of distress, depression, and anxiety during the deployment cycle, feelings of disconnection from family during reintegration, and higher rates of childhood trauma histories than their male counterparts.

Outcomes of a reflective parenting program among military spouses: The moderating role of social support.

The post-9/11 conflicts have taken a substantial toll on military families. Although positive effects of reintegration-focused programs are well-documented for service members, less is known about military spouses who are parents of young children. This article examines the outcomes of a formal reflective parenting program developed for military families who have very young children, and whether aspects of informal social support moderate spouse outcomes of anxiety, depression, and parenting stress.

Stress-buffering versus support erosion: Comparison of causal models of the relationship between social support and psychological distress in military spouses.

Spouses of National Guard/Reserve (NG/R) military service members cope with deployment-related stressors (DRS) that may contribute to increased psychological distress. Research indicates that higher levels of social support are associated with reduced depression and anxiety in military spouses, but longitudinal relationships have not yet been examined bidirectionally. This study examines temporal relationships between 3 dimensions of social support (social connectedness, dyadic satisfaction, and perceived support), and psychological distress in a sample of NG/R spouses during the first year after a service member returns from deployment.

The effect of a parenting intervention on relationship quality of recently deployed military service members and their partners.

Couples form the foundation of military families. However, on average, couples become significantly less satisfied with their relationships and marriages across the deployment cycle. Reduced satisfaction places partners at risk for psychological distress and family problems.

A randomized clinical trial of a postdeployment parenting intervention for service members and their families with very young children.

Objective: Parenting through the deployment cycle presents unique stressors for military families. To date, few evidence-based and military-specific parenting programs are available to support parenting through cycles of deployment separation and reintegration, especially for National Guard/Reserve members. The purpose of this research was to test the efficacy of a parenting program developed specifically to support military families during reintegration.

Engaging military parents in a home-based reintegration program: a consideration of strategies.

For more than a decade, the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have placed tremendous and cumulative strain on U.S. military personnel and their families.

The parenting cycle of deployment.

Parents of dependent children comprise approximately 42% of Active Duty and National Guard/Reserve military members serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. Recent estimates indicate that more than two million children have experienced parental deployment since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This article seeks to characterize the impact of the deployment life cycle on parenting roles among service members and at-home partners/caregivers of dependent children.

When a parent goes to war: effects of parental deployment on very young children and implications for intervention.

Young children (birth through 5 years of age) are disproportionately represented in U.S. military families with a deployed parent.

Young children's responses to September 11th: The New York City experience.

Although the knowledge base regarding very young children's responses to trauma has been expanding, descriptions of their responses to terrorism remain sparse. Yet, their vulnerability makes this an important group to study. Recent events in the United States (9/11, Hurricane Katrina) make this question highly relevant.

Community-based intervention for children exposed to intimate partner violence: an efficacy trial.

A community-based intervention program was tested with 181 children ages 6-12 and their mothers exposed to intimate partner violence during the past year. A sequential assignment procedure allocated participants to 3 conditions: child-only intervention, child-plus-mother intervention (CM), and a wait-list comparison. A 2-level hierarchical linear model consisting of repeated observations within individuals and individuals assigned to conditions was used to evaluate the effects of time from baseline to postintervention comparing the 3 conditions and from postintervention to 8-month follow-up for both intervention conditions.

Ecological predictors of traumatic stress symptoms in caucasian and ethnic minority children exposed to intimate partner violence.

Traumatic stress symptoms were assessed for 218 children ages 5 to 13 following exposure to intimate partner violence: 33% of Caucasian and 17% of minority children were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. A risk and protective factors model was used to predict traumatic stress symptoms. For Caucasian children, the best predictors were mothers' mental health and low self-esteem.

Post-9/11 helpseeking by New York City parents on behalf of highly exposed young children.

This study examines factors related to helpseeking among New York City parents on behalf of their young children after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Data were gathered from 180 parents about their children (under age 5) through in-depth parent interviews 9-12 months postdisaster. Parents were asked to describe their children's disaster-related experiences, their own and their children's mental health status, and post-9/11 helpseeking behavior for their children.

The SURVIVE Community Project: A Family-Based Intervention to Reduce the Impact of Violence Exposures in Urban Youth.

The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a family-based intervention designed to target the harmful effects of exposure to family and community violence on urban youth and their parents. The program, "Supporting Urban Residents to be Violence-Free in a Violent Environment (SURVIVE)," is a 12-week multiple family group (MEG) intervention modeled upon similar children's mental health programs implemented with urban youth of color and their families in several major U.S.

Questioning strategies in interviews with children who may have been sexually abused.

This article examines the number and types of questions employed in clinical and computer-assisted interviews with children referred for sexual abuse evaluation. This research was part of a larger study to assess the efficacy of a computer-assisted protocol in the evaluation of child sexual abuse allegations. Interviews of 47 girls and 29 boys, ages 5 to 10 years, referred to a multidisciplinary clinic for sexual abuse assessment, were analyzed.