Combat veterans are highly prone to develop Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) following their release from duty, presumably due to high prevalence of prolonged aversive emotional symptoms such as Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS). Parental Reflective Functions (PRF) and Parental Sense of Competence (PSOC) have been identified as key protective factors in predicting maternal functioning and well-being, yet little is known of its role among fathers, let alone combat veteran fathers. In this study we explored whether PRF and PSOC moderated the association between PTSS and AUD among 189 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) male combat veterans. Participants filled out validated measures assessing PTSS, PRF, PSOC and AUD. Results indicated that PTSS, as well as PRF’s “interest and curiosity regarding the child’s mental states” subscale, were positively correlated to AUD. In addition, PRF’s “certainty about child mental states” subscale moderated the association between PTSS and AUD, so that PTSS and AUD were significantly correlated for participants who reported average or high levels of certainty about their child’s mental states. This finding may imply that intrusive mentalizing (“hypermentalizing”) by veteran fathers may facilitate the association between PTSS and AUD, presumably by constituting a maladaptive mechanism for coping with the stressful uncertainty embedded in the parent–child relationship.

退伍军人在下班后极易出现酒精使用障碍 (AUD)，这可能是由于长期厌恶情绪症状（如创伤后应激症状 (PTSS) 等）的普遍存在。父母反射功能 (PRF) 和父母能力感 (PSOC) 已被确定为预测母亲功能和幸福感的关键保护因素，但对其在父亲中的作用知之甚少，更不用说与老父亲作战了。在这项研究中，我们探讨了 PRF 和 PSOC 是否在 189 名以色列国防军 (IDF) 男性退伍军人中调节了 PTSS 和 AUD 之间的关联。参与者填写了评估 PTSS、PRF、PSOC 和 AUD 的经过验证的措施。结果表明，PTSS 以及 PRF 的“对儿童精神状态的兴趣和好奇心”分量表，与澳元呈正相关。此外，PRF 的“关于儿童精神状态的确定性”子量表调节了 PTSS 和 AUD 之间的关联，因此对于报告对孩子精神状态确定性为中等或高水平的参与者而言，PTSS 和 AUD 显着相关。这一发现可能意味着，资深父亲的侵入性心理化（“过度心理化”）可能促进 PTSS 和 AUD 之间的关联，大概是通过构成一种适应不良的机制来应对嵌入在亲子关系中的压力不确定性。