Reducing Veteran rates of suicide has long remained a top priority for the Veterans Health Administration, and as such, identifying correlates of suicidal behaviors is important to develop targeted interventions. Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been identified as a robust predictor of suicide attempts; however, less is known about correlates of NSSI that may aid in upstream prevention efforts. Prior research suggests adherence to various traditional masculine gender role norms may be positively associated with NSSI. Thus, as the U.S. military is widely recognized for promoting and rewarding such norms, this study sought to build off previous research by examining the association between adherence to various masculine gender role norms and engagement in NSSI behaviors among a mixed-sex sample of U.S. Veterans (N = 124). Results showed the norm of emotional control was most strongly associated with lifetime engagement in NSSI behaviors (including the behavior of wall-object punching), whereas the norm of violence was associated with NSSI disorder. Interestingly, exploratory analyses indicated that these associations were primarily driven by women Veterans and sexual orientation status. Overall, the results highlight the importance of assessing for adherence to masculine gender role norms among all Veterans and speak to additional avenues for future research.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) clinics in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) often provide psychoeducational or skill-building groups to prepare veterans for trauma-focused PTSD treatments. However, there has been limited evaluation of the effectiveness of this phase-based approach for treatment engagement and symptom reduction. Participants included 575 veterans seeking treatment for PTSD whose treatment outcomes were assessed in a VA outpatient PTSD clinic staffed by mental health professionals and trainees. Participants completed self-report measures of baseline characteristics and psychiatric symptoms as part of routine PTSD clinic treatment. We tested the association of preparatory group treatment with engagement in and treatment response to subsequent trauma-focused psychotherapies, cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure therapy (PE), which are designated by VA as evidence-based psychotherapies (EBP). Following participation in preparatory treatments, 94/391 (24%) of veterans engaged in a subsequent trauma-focused EBP (CPT or PE). Relative to patients who had previously completed a preparatory group, patients initiating a trauma-focused EBP without having first attended preparatory PTSD treatment had similar rates of trauma-focused EBP completion and better treatment response, as measured by decreases on the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5; PCL-5), F(1, 3009) = 10.89, p = .001, and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 measure of depressive symptoms F(1, 3688) = 6.74, p = .010. Overall, veterans reported greater symptom reduction when engaging in trauma-focused EBP directly, without having previously attended a preparatory group. These data support veteran engagement in trauma-focused EBPs for PTSD without first being encouraged to complete psychoeducational or skill-building groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Despite many prevailing societal beliefs, parents often experience mood and anxiety symptoms during the postpartum period, often referred to as postpartum distress (PPD). The aim of this study was to explicate whether aspects of role functioning during the postpartum period are associated with PPD, and whether this association may be partially explained by relationship adjustment. Seventy-three couples and an additional nine women who were 4–12 weeks postpartum participated in this study. Results indicate that men’s experience of role unacceptability predicted their own greater PPD symptoms which were partially mediated by their own poorer relationship adjustment, as well as women’s poorer relationship adjustment. Additionally, women’s work-family strain predicted their own greater PPD symptoms as well as men’s greater relationship adjustment. These results serve to highlight several key aspects of men’s and women’s postpartum role functioning and the associations that they share with postpartum distress symptoms. Implications for research and clinical work are discussed.