Mental health in spouses of U.S. Gulf War veterans
- Toomey, R., Alper, R. , Reda, D. J., Baker, D. G., Vasterling, J. J., Blanchard, M., & Eisen, S. A. (2019). Mental health in spouses of U.S. Gulf War Veterans. Psychiatry Research, 275, 287-295. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.03.043
- Spouses of veterans may be negatively influenced by deployment experiences. However, many previous studies on this topic are limited by only using self-report data sources (e.g., surveys from the veteran only) and examining short-term veteran spouse outcomes. The current study examined the links between Gulf War veterans’ deployment status and mental health after returning home from deployment and the mental health of their spouses. This study addressed previous research limitations by longitudinally examining the mental health of 1,024 spouses of veterans approximately 10 years after the Gulf War and by utilizing clinical diagnostic interviews from both the veteran and the spouse. The results suggest that veteran deployment and the mental health of the veteran after deployment were both associated with long term mental health challenges for their spouses.
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