Associations of Army Fathers’ PTSD Symptoms and Child Functioning: Within‐ and Between‐Family Effects

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12358
• Author: Galena K. Rhoades,Howard J. Markman,Scott M. Stanley,Aleja Parsons,Kayla Knopp,Elizabeth S. Allen
• Published date: 01 December 2018
• Date: 01 December 2018

Associations of Army Fathers’ PTSD Symptoms and

Child Functioning: Within- and Between-Family

Effects

ALEJA PARSONS*

KAYLA KNOPP*

GALENA K. RHOADES*

ELIZABETH S. ALLEN

†

HOWARD J. MARKMAN*

SCOTT M. STANLEY*

This study examined the within-family and between-family associations between fathers’

military-related PTSD symptoms and parent ratings of children’s behavioral and emo-

tional problems. The sample included married couples (N=419) with children composed

of a civilian wife and an active-duty husband serving in the U.S. Army. Results indicate

that changes in fathers’ PTSD symptoms over time were associated with corresponding

changes in both mothers’ and fathers’ reports of child behavioral and emotional problems.

These within-family findings were independent from between-family effects, which showed

that higher average PTSD symptomatology was associated with more overall behavioral

and emotional problems for children. This study uses advances in statistical methodologies

to increase knowledge about how PTSD symptoms and child problems are related, both

across different families and over time within families.

Keywords: PTSD; Child Problems; Army Couples

Fam Proc 57:915–926, 2018

The extensive scope and duration of recent U.S. military operations overseas has

increased interest in the effects of military service on children and families (Char-

trand & Siegel, 2007). With a particular focus on the “linked lives” of military parents and

their children (Cozza & Lerner, 2013), many studies indicate that service members’ PTSD

symptoms impact their spouses and families (see Galovski & Lyons, 2004). Prior research

has shown the association of parents’ PTSD with global family functioning (Davidson &

Mellor, 2001), parenting processes (Gewirtz, Polusny, DeGarmo, Khaylis, & Erbes, 2010),

and the parent–child relationship (Ruscio, Weathers, King, & King, 2002). This study

focuses on an important aspect of this topic: the association between military parents’

PTSD symptoms and their children’s emotional and behavioral adjustment. We aim to

extend knowledge about the association of service member PTSD symptoms and children’s

adjustment by examining both within-family and between-family associations over time.

Research generally shows that the severity of parental PTSD symptoms in a military

population is associated with both emotional or internalizing (e.g., depression and with-

drawal) and behavioral or externalizing (e.g., aggressiveness and delinquency) problems

*Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO.

†

University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Aleja Parsons, Department of Psychology,

University of Denver, 2155 S. Race Street, Denver, CO 80210. E-mail: aleja.parsons@du.edu.

915

Family Process, Vol. 57, No. 4, 2018 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12358