Citation

LeBlanc NJ, Dixon L, Robinaugh DJ, Valentine SE, Bosley HG, Gerber MW, Marques L. J. Trauma. Stress 2016; 29(3): 259-267.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.22100

PMID

27163435

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated bidirectional associations between posttraumatric stress disorder (PTSD) and romantic relationship dissatisfaction. Most of these studies were focused at the level of the disorder, examining the association between relationship dissatisfaction and having a diagnosis of PTSD or the total of PTSD symptoms endorsed. This disorder-level approach is problematic for trauma theorists who posit symptom-level mechanisms for these effects. In the present study, we examined the prospective, bidirectional associations between PTSD symptom clusters (e.g., reexperiencing) and relationship satisfaction using the data from 101 previously studied individuals who had had a recent motor vehicle accident. We also conducted exploratory analyses examining the prospective, bidirectional associations between individual PTSD symptoms and relationship satisfaction. Participants had completed the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version and the Relationship Assessment Scale at 4, 10, and 16 weeks after the MVA. We performed time-lagged mixed-effects regressions to examine the effect of lagged relationship satisfaction on PTSD clusters and symptoms, and vice versa. No cluster effects were significant after controlling for a false discovery rate. Relationship satisfaction predicted prospective decreases in reliving the trauma (d = 0.42), emotional numbness (d = 0.46), and irritability (d = 0.49). These findings were consistent with the position that relationship satisfaction affects PTSD through symptom-level mechanisms.

Copyright © 2016 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Language: en