The Post-Combat Couple Adjustment Questionnaire: A Preliminary Validation

136 Pages·2017·2.23 MB·English

Antioch University
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Dissertations & Theses
2013
The Post-Combat Couple Adjustment
Questionnaire: A Preliminary Validation
Valerie Maine
Antioch University - New England
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Maine, Valerie, "The Post-Combat Couple Adjustment Questionnaire: A Preliminary Validation" (2013).Dissertations & Theses. 34.
http://aura.antioch.edu/etds/34
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The Post-Combat Couple Adjustment Questionnaire: A Preliminary Validation

by
Valerie E. Maine
B.A., Oberlin College, 2003
M.S., Antioch University New England, 2010

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Doctor of Psychology in the Department of Clinical Psychology
at Antioch University New England, 2013

Keene, New Hampshire
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE ii

Department
 of
 Clinical
 Psychology

DISSERTATION
 COMMITTEE
 PAGE

The
 undersigned
 have
 examined
 the
 dissertation
 entitled:

THE
 POST-­‐COMBAT
 COUPLE
 ADJUSTMENT
 QUESTIONNAIRE:
 A

PRELIMINARY
 VALIDATION

presented
 on
 January
 24,
 2013

by

Valerie
 E.
 Maine

 Candidate
 for
 the
 degree
 of
 Doctor
 of
 Psychology

and
 hereby
 certify
 that
 it
 is
 accepted*.

Dissertation
 Committee
 Chairperson:

Theodore
 J.
 Ellenhorn,
 PhD

Dissertation
 Committee
 members:

Ann
 Johnson,
 PsyD

Jodi
 Ceballos,
 PsyD

Accepted
 by
 the

Department
 of
 Clinical
 Psychology
 Chairperson

Kathi
 A.
 Borden,
 PhD

on
 1/24/13

*
 Signatures
 are
 on
 file
 with
 the
 Registrar’s
 Office
 at
 Antioch
 University
 New
 England.
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE iii

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank everyone who helped me along this journey, both those directly involved
with my dissertation and those who helped me get through graduate school in one piece. I would
like to thank my advisor, Ted Ellenhorn, for his support and guidance, as well as the rest of my
committee, Ann Johnson and Jodi Ceballos. I would like to thank my dissertation group for
listening and offering suggestions, help, and feedback along the way. Specifically, I would like
to thank Tracy Shannon and Vince Pignatiello for their friendship and support. Vince, your
guidance through my statistical analyses was invaluable and I could not have done this without
you. I would also like to thank my cohort as a whole for being loud, rambunctious, and never
boring! I would like to thank Donna Moxley for giving me a home in New Hampshire for four
years and for giving me something to look forward to on my long drives to school. Lastly, I
would like to thank my friends and family for their support and understanding over the last six
years. To my parents, Ron and Eugenie Maine, I would like to say thank you for your love and
support, for housing me, feeding me, and taking care of me for two of those years. I don’t think I
could have finished without you. To my sister, Sarah Maine, I would like to say thank you for
your unwavering love, support, and protection of your little sis. I’m so glad we got to overlap at
Antioch and that you are a part of my memories of Keene. Lastly, I would like to thank my
husband, Jordan Rosenblum. It is hard to put into words my gratitude and love for you. Thank
you for teaching me how to write, for reading every single paper I wrote, and for always
believing I could do it, even when I thought I couldn’t. This degree is as much your achievement
as mine and I could not have done it without you.
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE iv

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 1

Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 3

Overview ................................................................................................................................. 3

Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 3

Purpose .................................................................................................................................... 6

Research Questions and Hypotheses ...................................................................................... 7

Significance of the Study ........................................................................................................ 8

Conceptual Framework ......................................................................................................... 11

Summary of Methodology .................................................................................................... 13

Definition of Terms............................................................................................................... 13

Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 20

Review of Literature ................................................................................................................. 20

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 20

Domain 1: Redefining Roles, Expectations, and Division of Household Responsibilities .. 20

Domain 2: Managing Strong Emotions ................................................................................ 32

Domain 3: Managing Emotional Constriction and Creating Intimacy in Relationships ...... 38

Domain 4: Creating a Sense of Shared Meaning Surrounding the Deployment
Experience ............................................................................................................................. 43

Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 49

Research Design and Methodology .......................................................................................... 49

Development of the PCCAQ ................................................................................................ 49

Other Measures ..................................................................................................................... 51

Participants ............................................................................................................................ 53

Procedures ............................................................................................................................. 54

Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................... 58

Results ....................................................................................................................................... 58

Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................................. 58

Research Question 1 Results ................................................................................................. 68

Research Question 2 Results ................................................................................................. 70

Research Question 3 Results ................................................................................................. 70

Research Question 4 Results ................................................................................................. 73

Research Question 5 Results ................................................................................................. 74

Exploratory Analyses Results ............................................................................................... 76

Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................................... 80

Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 80
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE v
Interpretations ....................................................................................................................... 80

Limitations of the Present Study ........................................................................................... 85

Conclusions and Future Prospects ........................................................................................ 87

References ..................................................................................................................................... 89

Appendix A ................................................................................................................................... 96

Appendix B ................................................................................................................................. 101

Appendix C ................................................................................................................................. 102

Appendix D ................................................................................................................................. 104

Appendix E ................................................................................................................................. 106

Appendix F.................................................................................................................................. 107

Appendix G ................................................................................................................................. 108

Appendix H ................................................................................................................................. 119
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE vi

List of Tables
1 Summary of Research Questions and Proposed Data Analytic Strategy ...............................57

2 Descriptive Statistics for Veteran Scores ...............................................................................61

3 Descriptive Statistics for Partner Scores ................................................................................65

4 Convergent Validity of the Veteran PCCAQ with the RDAS Total, RDAS Subscales
(Consensus, Satisfaction, and Cohesion), and the RAS Total ...............................................69

5 Convergent Validity of the Partner PCCAQ with the RDAS Total, RDAS Subscales
(Consensus, Satisfaction, and Cohesion), and the RAS Total ...............................................70

6 Internal Consistency of the Entire PCCAQ ..........................................................................71

7 Internal Consistency of the Other Veteran Measures ...........................................................72

8 Internal Consistency of the Other Partner Measures .............................................................73

9 Internal Consistency of Each Domain of the PCCAQ ...........................................................74

10 Pearson’s r for Veteran PCCAQ Domains (n = 31) ...............................................................75

11 Pearson’s r for Partner PCCAQ Domains (n = 60) ................................................................76

12 Means and Standard Deviations for the PTSD (n = 15) and No PTSD (n = 14) Groups ......77

13 Impact of PTSD Diagnosis on Veteran PCCAQ Score (PTSD n = 15; No PTSD n = 14) ...78
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE vii

List of Figures
1 Age distribution for the entire sample ...................................................................................58

2 Distribution of veteran total scores on the PCCAQ ...............................................................61

3 Distribution of veteran total scores on the RAS ....................................................................62

4 Distribution of veteran total scores on the RDAS .................................................................62

5 Distribution of veteran total scores on the RDAS Consensus Subscale ................................63

6 Distribution of veteran total scores on the RDAS Satisfaction Subscale ..............................63

7 Distribution of veteran total scores on the RDAS Cohesion Subscale .................................. 64

8 Distribution of partner total scores on the PCCAQ ...............................................................66

9 Distribution of partner total scores on the RAS .....................................................................66

10 Distribution of partner total scores on the RDAS ..................................................................66

11 Distribution of partner total scores on the RDAS Consensus Subscale.................................67

12 Distribution of partner total scores on the RDAS Satisfaction Subscale ..............................67

13 Distribution of partner total scores on the RDAS Cohesion Subscale...................................68

14 Scree plot for veteran and partner PCCAQ (n = 92) ..............................................................79
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE 1
Abstract
This dissertation presents the results of a psychometric study regarding the preliminary
validation of The Post-Combat Couple Adjustment Questionnaire (PCCAQ). This measure was
designed to assess post-combat and post-deployment adjustment for male veterans and their
female partners. The measure was created using existing literature on veterans, posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), and couples. The PCCAQ consists of four domains of couple
functioning, including: (a) redefining roles, expectations, and division of household
responsibilities; (b) managing strong emotions; (c) abandoning emotional constriction and
creating intimacy in relationships; and (d) creating a sense of shared meaning surrounding the
deployment experience. The PCCAQ was compared to two other couples measures: the Revised
Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS; Busby et al., 1995) and the Relationship Assessment Scale
(RAS; Hendrick, 1988). The survey was distributed online through surveymonkey.com and was
completed by 31 male veterans (from Operation Enduring Freedom [OEF] and Operation Iraqi
Freedom [OIF]) and 60 female partners of OEF and OIF veterans. The results were analyzed
using quantitative methods. Results indicate that the PCCAQ has strong internal consistency and
strong split-half reliability. The four domains of the PCCAQ were highly correlated with one
another, indicating that the four domains fit together into a larger construct (i.e., post-deployment
adjustment). In addition, results indicated moderate to strong correlations between the PCCAQ
and the RDAS and RAS. The female partner form was more strongly correlated with the other
two measures than the veteran form, indicating the likely presence of additional adjustment
issues for veterans (i.e., adjustment to PTSD symptoms and civilian life). Overall, the PCCAQ
appears to be a sound assessment tool for the measurement of post-deployment adjustment in
POST-COMBAT ADJUSTMENT QUESTIONNAIRE 2
couples. Interpretations, as well as discussions regarding the limitations of this study and future
research are offered.
Keywords: PTSD, post-combat, post-deployment, couple adjustment, OEF, OIF