Incidence of Behavior Problems Among Children of Vietnam War Veterans

Abstract

Vietnam combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were compared to non-combat Vietnam era veterans without PTSD on their perceptions of their children's social and emotional functioning. A total of 107 veterans completed a parent's behavior checklist on their 191 children. The results indicated that fathers with PTSD perceived their children as exhibiting a substantially greater degree of dysfunctional social and emotional behavior. The types of dysfunctional behaviors were a function of the child's age and sex; however, children of PTSD fathers were generally rated as significantly more likely to exhibit an inadequate level of self-control resulting in various externalizing problem behaviors such as aggression, hyperactivity and delinquency. Further, these children were perceived as having difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships. The findings support the notion that a father's anxiety disorder, such as PTSD, may be related to his children's social and emotional functioning.