Violence exposure in home and community: Influence on posttraumatic stress symptoms in Army recruits*

Abstract

AbstractThis study assessed the levels and types of violence exposure, levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms, and the relationship among exposure to violence, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and early discharge in U.S. Army recruits at Basic Combat Training (BCT). The study applied a modified ABCX model of family stress adaptation developed by McCubbin, Thompson, and McCubbin (1996). A sample of 779 BCT recruits were surveyed before training began. At the end of training, data was collected on those recruits who had been discharged before completion of training. Statistical measures of association were used to assess the relationship between the variables. Results supported all three of the hypotheses tested. Significant positive relationships were found between violence exposure and trauma symptoms, as well as levels of trauma symptoms and odds of early discharge. Patterns of association were found between types of exposure to community versus home violence and specific symptom clusters of traumatic stress. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 527–541, 2004.