7 Young Adulthood 181Christian (2006) treated many young adults post-military service and says
“One of the most striking lessons that I learned while treating these patients
was that no matter the extent of their injuries, the amount of combat exposure
or the number of deployments, the most salient aspect of their emotional suf-
fering was dealing with the deaths of friends with whom they served” (p. 8).
Christian (2006) found that grieving veterans often lack the support of their
fellow veterans from whom they are separated when hospitalized. Important
interventions include normalizing their grief and helping the injured vet to
make phone calls and send letters to members of his unit to help alleviate the
sense of separation and loneliness and to share grief about the members of the
unit who died. It is difficult for the vet’s family to understand the tight bonds
formed among military members under the stress of combat.
Fink et al. (2013) are concerned about the steady increase of suicide within
the U.S. army since 2004. The rates surpass the age and gender-adjusted civil-
ian suicide rates from 2007, with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps exhibiting
the highest rates (Fink et al., 2013). Although there are mandated screening mea-
sures in place to assist leaders in identifying high-risk soldiers, it appears that the
stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment continues to be a barrier
that keeps veterans from getting the treatment that they need (Fink et al., 2013).
To date, the emphasis on PTSD in young veterans and their families has
been limited to the trauma experienced by the service member with little focus
on their (or their family’s) bereavement experiences (Beardslee, 2013; Kaplow
et al., 2013). Service providers need to better understand and address the chal-
lenges encountered by bereaved service members, spouses, and children after
the death of young adult military members. Kaplow et al. (2013) stress the need
to examine the experiences of both “physical death as well as losses brought
about by extended physical separations to which military children and fami-
lies are exposed during and after deployment” (p. 323). Recognizing that grief
and loss may accompany PTSD, allow a more comprehensive understanding
of the diverse challenges confronting vets and their families and may aid in
developing effective interventions and policies to support bereaved families
(Kaplow et al., 2013).
Young widows who lost spouses during the 9/11 attacks and young wid-
ows of veterans who have died in wars have similarities. In both cases, the
bodies of spouses may not have been retrieved and in both cases the deaths
were sudden and traumatic, often leading to complicated grief (Boss, 2004).
The young adult war widow is confronted with a series of multiple losses. The
spouse often suffers the loss of identity as a “military spouse,” loss of hous-
ing (if the family lived on a post or base), loss of the way of life as a military
family, and the “loss of feeling connected to the greater military community”
(Harrington-LaMorie & Mcdevitt-Murphy, 2011, p. 267). The military has its
own customs, rituals, educational and health systems, and spouses often have
little opportunity to develop their own hobbies, support networks or careers
(Harrington-LaMorie, Carroll, & Beck, 2014; Harrington-LaMorie & Mcdevitt-
Murphy, 2011). This can add to the challenges of establishing a new identity.
For the surviving spouse of an enlisted young adult, the death is immediate,
involuntary, and requires a rapid transition from military to civilian life for the
survivors. Spouses often have to make immediate decisions about moves, chil-
dren’s schooling, and future employment, while grieving a traumatic death.