Betrayal trauma among veterans

Betrayal trauma theory has been a useful construct for differentiating outcomes following various forms of traumatic experiences. Research has shown individuals exposed to higher betrayal traumas report worse mental and physical health outcomes compared to lower betrayal traumas. Although veterans experience higher rates of trauma than their civilian counterparts, the application of betrayal trauma theory to this population has been limited. The present study applied a betrayal trauma framework to better understand veteran's lifetime traumatic experiences and how they may relate to mental and physical health outcomes, including suicide risk and chronic pain. Self-report data were collected from 267 veterans recruited online using a crowd sourcing platform. A series of hierarchical regressions was performed. Suicidal ideation was regressed on betrayal trauma occurring before, during, and after military service. The results of two separate analyses showed significant main effects for lower betrayal trauma during military service (R2 = .135, F(11, 255) = 3.632, p < .001) and higher betrayal trauma post-military service (R2 = .144, F(12, 258) = 3.901, p <.001). Social problem solving was examined as a potential moderator of suicide risk; however, the results were not significant. Chronic pain was regressed on PTSD and lower and higher betrayal trauma; results showed PTSD and lower betrayal trauma explained significant variance in chronic pain (R2 = .202, F(5, 261) = 13.200, p < .001). Social problem solving was examined as a moderator of chronic pain and higher betrayal trauma; only the omnibus effect of higher BT was statistically significant (R2 = .137, F(6, 260) = 6.906, p < .001). These results, some of which were not consistent with prior research, are discussed in relation to the general veteran population, military context, and current relevant literature. This study adds to a larger literature base showing that prevention and assessment of trauma throughout the lifespan among veterans is important to reduce suicide risk and chronic pain.