PTSD Symptoms and Family versus Stranger Violence in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (2013)

Undergraduates: Connor Sullivan, Eric Elbogen

Faculty Advisor: Eric Elbogen
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with violence committed by veterans; however, a potential link to specific PTSD symptoms has received less attention. This paper examines the relationship between PTSD symptoms and different types of violent behavior in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans. Participants were randomly sampled from U.S. military service members or national guard/reservists who served after September 11th, 2001. Data were collected at baseline and one-year follow-up from a national sample of N=1090 veterans, from 50 states and all military branches. Of these veterans, 13% reported aggression towards a family member and 9% towards a stranger during the one-year study period. Anger symptoms at baseline predicted higher odds of family violence at follow-up, both severe (OR = 1.30, CI [1.13, 1.48], p < .0001) and any (OR = 1.28, CI [1.19, 1.37], p < .0001). PTSD flashback symptoms at baseline predicted higher odds of stranger violence at follow-up, both severe (OR = 1.26, CI [1.11, 1.42], p < .0001) and any (OR = 1.16, CI [1.05, 1.28], p = .0029). Analyses revealed that males were more likely to engage in stranger violence whereas females were more likely to endorse aggression in the family context. The results provide limited support to the hypothesis that PTSD ¿flashbacks¿ in veterans are linked to violence. The differing multivariate models illustrate distinct veteran characteristics associated with specific types of violence.