War and Family Life

Shelley M. MacDermid Wadsworth is director of the Military Family Research Institute and the Center for Families and professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University. Her research focuses on relationships between job conditions and family life, with a special focus on military families and organizational policies, programs and practices. Her research has been widely published, and has been funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Henry A. Murray Center, the Department of Defense, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the state of Indiana, Lilly Endowment, and others. She serves on the editorial boards of several major family research journals, and is a fellow of the National Council on Family Relations and a recipient of the Work Life Legacy Award from the Families and Work Institute. She served on the Returning Veterans Committee of the Institute of Medicine and the Psychological Health External Advisory Committee of the Defense Health Board.David Riggs is a clinical psychologist who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Deployment Psychology and research associate professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Much of his work has focused on trauma, violence and anxiety, particularly the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders on the families of those directly affected. He has trained numerous student and mental health professionals, published more than 80 articles and book chapters, and presented numerous papers and workshops. Previous positions include clinical research positions at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety and the National Center for PTSD, as well as academic appointments at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania.

• State of Science Regarding Military-Connected Families.- Family-Related Experiences During Deployment and their Role in the Postdeployment Mental Health of OEF/OIF Veterans.- Deployment and Divorce: An In-Depth Analysis by Relevant Demographic and Military Characteristics.- Military Couples and Posttraumatic Stress: Interpersonally Based Behaviors and Cognitions as Mechanisms of Individual and Couple Distress.- War Captivity:  Associations with Spouses' Distress and Marital Relationships.- Warfare and Parent Care: Armed Conflict and the Social Logic of Child and National Protection.- Parenting styles in military and civilian families with adolescents:  The impact of deployment, mood, and marital satisfaction.- Determining the Long Term Health Outcomes of Servicewomen and Female Veterans: An Australian Perspective.- Understanding the Experiences of Women and LGBT Veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs Care.- Risk and Resilience Factors in Combat Military Health Care Providers.- Gender and Marital Status in the Military: Implications for Understanding Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Symptoms.- Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse Severity on the Adjustment of Navy Recruits: An Evaluation of the Importance of the Nature of the Abusive Relationship.- Veteran Mental Health and Employment: The Nexus and Beyond.- The Role of the Military Family in the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Ill and Injured Service Members.- The Family Ties that Bind:  Tangible, Instrumental, and Emotional Support among Homeless Veterans.