https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Cozza2022

Cozza, S. J., Ogle, C. M., Fisher, J. E., Zhou, J., Zuleta, R. F., Fullerton, C. S., & Ursano, R. J. (2022). The effect of war injury and combat deployment on military wives’ mental health symptoms. Depression and Anxiety, 39(10-11), 686-694. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23274

This study compared the mental health of wives of Service members who experienced combat injuries (e.g., amputation, blindness) with that of the wives of Service members uninjured in combat but who experienced either a long (i.e., more than 11 months) or short (i.e., fewer than 11 months) deployment. 164 Service members’ wives self-reported their symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health symptoms (e.g., overall psychological symptoms, anxiety, somatization), as well as whether they had experienced a traumatic event. Generally, the wives of Service members with combat injuries had more negative mental health symptoms than wives of uninjured Service members.

https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23274

Deployment
Mental health
Couples
Physical health
Trauma

Army
Air Force
Marine Corps
Multiple branches

Active Duty

Spouse of service member or veteran

Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)

Quantitative Study

Cozza, Stephen J., Ogle, Christin M., Fisher, Joscelyn E., Zhou, Jing, Zuleta, Rafael F., Fullerton, Carol S., Ursano, Robert J.

Background Although much has been learned about the physical and psychological impacts of deployment and combat injury on military service members, less is known about the effects of these experiences on military spouses. Methods The present study examined self-reported mental health symptoms (using the Brief Symptom Inventory [BSI]-18 and the posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] Checklist [PCL-C]) in wives of service members who were combat-injured (CI; n = 60); noninjured with cumulative deployment longer than 11 months (NI-High; n = 51); and noninjured with cumulativel deployment less than 11 months (NI-Low; n = 53). Results 36.7% and 11.7% of CI wives endorsed above threshold symptoms on the PCL-C and overall BSI-18, respectively. Multivariate linear regressions revealed that being a CI wife was associated with higher PCL-C, overall BSI-18, and BSI-18 anxiety subscale scores compared to NI-Low wives in models adjusted for individual and family characteristics, as well as prior trauma and childhood adversities. Compared with the NI-High group, the CI group was associated with higher overall BSI-18 scores. Conclusions While CI wives evidenced fewer mental symptoms than expected, these findings suggest a negative impact of service member's combat injury on wives’ mental health above that attributable to deployment, highlighting the need for trauma-informed interventions designed to support the needs of military wives affected by combat injury.

Wiley Online

Article
REACH Publication

Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, SJC
Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, CMO
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, CMO
Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, JEF
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, JEF
Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, JZ
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, JZ
Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, RFZ
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, RFZ
Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, CSF
Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, RJU