Impact of Childhood Maltreatment on Physical Health-Related Quality of Life in U.S. Active Duty Military Personnel and Combat Veterans

• NCJ Number: 248090
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 38 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2014 Pages: 1382-1388
• Author(s): Laura H. Aversa; Jennifer Lemmer; Sarah Nunnink; Robert N. McLay; Dewleen G. Baker
• Date Published: August 2014
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A sample of 249 active duty and combat veterans were involved in testing whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Abstract

The study determined that PTSD and depression both mediated the relationship between overall physical HRQoL and childhood maltreatment; and at the level of the subscales, PTSD and depression mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and bodily pain, role-physical functioning, and social functioning. This study lends further support to previous research that identified depression as a factor with a large effect on physical HRQoL. In the omnibus model with childhood maltreatment, PTSD, and depression predicting physical HRQoL, only depression explained a significant proportion of the variance in HRQoL. Recruitment criteria for the initial study required that participants have combat exposure, including engagement with the enemy and threat or fear of loss of life or injury as determined by the Combat Exposure Scale. Participants must also have returned from deployment at least 6 months prior to study assessment. Those with substance abuse dependence and those meeting criteria for a pre-deployment Axis I disorder were excluded from the study. Both depression and PTSD symptoms were assessed with clinician-administered measures. 3 tables and 41 references