Citation

Goff BSN, Crow JR, Reisbig AMJ, Hamilton S. J. Couple Relationsh. Ther. 2009; 8(4): 291.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15332690903246085

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Research traditionally has focused on the development of symptoms in those who experienced trauma directly but has overlooked the impact of trauma on the families of victims. More recently, researchers have begun to examine how individual exposure to traumatic events affects the spouses/partners of trauma survivors. The current study reports data from male Army soldiers who recently returned from a deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan and their spouses/partners. The results indicated that increased trauma symptoms in the soldiers significantly predicted traumatic stress symptoms in the female partners, particularly soldiers' avoidance symptoms. Areas for future research and clinical implications also are identified.

Keywords: soldiers; spouses/partners; traumatic stress; secondary traumatic stress; Operation Iraqi Freedom; Operation Enduring Freedom