The impact of childhood abuse and combat-related trauma on postdeployment adjustment

This retrospective study examined the effects of childhood physical abuse (CPA) and combat-related trauma on postdeployment psychiatric symptoms in an outpatient clinical sample of 1,045 U.S. service members. The authors conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine the impact of CPA and combat-related trauma on alcohol use, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Analyses revealed significant main effects for CPA and combat-related trauma on anxiety, depression, and PTSD. In contrast, no interactive effects were observed. Findings support and expand current knowledge about the roles that CPA and combat trauma play in the development of psychiatric symptoms and suggest a more complex etiology for postdeployment symptomatology. Clinical implications and future research opportunities are discussed.