Citation

Sherman MD, Sautter F, Jackson MH, Lyons JA, Han X. J. Marital Fam. Ther. 2006; 32(4): 479-490.

Affiliation

Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, Oklahoma 73104, USA. michelle-sherman@ouhsc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1752-0606.2006.tb01622.x

PMID

17120520

Abstract

Domestic violence rates among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are higher than those of the general population. Individuals who have been diagnosed with PTSD who seek couples therapy with their partners constitute an understudied population. Self-report measures of domestic violence, relationship satisfaction, and intimacy were administered at intake to 179 couples seeking relationship therapy at a Veterans Affairs clinic. Couples in which the veteran was diagnosed with combat-related PTSD were compared with two other groups based on the veteran's primary diagnosis (depression, adjustment disorder/V-code). Both the PTSD- and depression-diagnosed veterans perpetrated more violence than did those with adjustment/V-code diagnoses. Domestic violence rates among depressed and PTSD-diagnosed veterans were much higher than those found in previous research. Implications for assessment and treatment are discussed.

Language: en