Citation

Adler AB, Britt TW, Castro CA, McGurk D, Bliese PD. J. Trauma. Stress 2011; 24(4): 381-389.

Affiliation

U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Europe, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Heidelberg. amy.adler@us.army.mil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.20665

PMID

21818784

Abstract

Transition home following a combat deployment involves a period of adjustment. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of a new 16-item transition scale were conducted with 2 samples and resulted in 4 factors (Benefit, Appreciation, Anger/Alienation, and Guilt/Remorse). In Study 1 (N = 1,651), the number of combat events was positively related to Anger/Alienation 4 months later even after controlling for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, partial r = .18, p < .001. In Study 2 (N = 647), after controlling for PTSD symptoms, Anger/Alienation assessed at 4 months postdeployment predicted more risk-taking behaviors 4 months later, partial r = .10, p = .01. Appreciation predicted fewer unhealthy habits, partial r = -.13, p = .001, whereas Anger/Alienation predicted more unhealthy habits, partial r = .09, p = .024. Results demonstrate the importance of broadening the conceptualization of adjustment in combat veterans.

Language: en