Does It Help? The Contribution of Wives' Ways of Giving Support to Their Veteran Husbands' Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Functional Impairment.

In this study, we aimed to understand female partners' ways of giving support to their male military veteran partners' adjustment. Specifically, we examined the direct and moderating contributions female partners' ways of giving support-active engagement, protective buffering, or overprotection-make on their male partners' posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and functional impairment. Our hypotheses were that (a) female partners' active engagement would be negatively correlated with male veterans' PTSS and positively associated with veterans' functioning, (b) female partners' protective buffering and overprotection would be positively correlated with veterans' PTSS and negatively associated with veterans' functioning, and (c) female partners' ways of giving support would moderate the association between their secondary PTSS and male partners' adjustment. Participants were 300 male Israeli veterans of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War and their female partners, all of whom completed self-report questionnaires. Active engagement did not contribute to female partners' or veterans' adjustment. In addition, whereas the correlations showed both female partners' protective buffering and overprotection were associated with male veterans' adjustment, the regression analysis showed only protective buffering made a direct, η2 = .040 and .053, and moderating contribution to veterans' adjustment, η2 = .019 and .016. Results revealed that when the level of protective buffering was high, female partners' secondary PTSS was associated more positively and strongly with veterans' PTSS than when protective buffering was low. The discussion reviews the complexity of giving support in couples when the veteran has PTSS.

Demographic factors and retrieval of object and proper names after age 70.

PURPOSE: This research aimed to investigate whether demographic factors are similarly related to retrieval of object and proper names. METHODS: The sample included 5,907 individuals above age 70 who participated in the Health and Retirement Study between 2004 and 2012. Participants were asked to name two objects as well as the US President and Vice President. Latent growth curve models examined the associations of age, education, and self-rated health with baseline levels and change trajectories in retrieval. RESULTS: Age and education were more strongly related to retrieval of proper names than to retrieval of object names, both for baseline scores and for change trajectory. Similar effects of self-rated health emerged for both types of stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that examining object names and proper names together as indication of cognitive status in the HRS might overlook important differences between the two types of stimuli, in both baseline performance and longitudinal change.

The double-edged sword: The role of empathy in military veterans' partners distress.

OBJECTIVE: The existing literature has shown that war veterans' posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are associated with high levels of distress in their female partners. According to the literature, spouses' empathy for their spouses can be a risk factor for their own mental health. However, this subject has not been examined among veteran couples. The current study therefore investigated both the direct and moderating contribution of females' cognitive and affective empathy to their own PTSS and depression symptoms, above and beyond the preexisting traumatic events of the women's own lives and the veterans' PTSS. METHOD: Participants were 300 Israeli men who had served in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War and their female partners, all of whom completed survey questionnaires. RESULTS: Results revealed that although cognitive empathy can play a positive role for the female in the aftermath of a traumatic event, affective empathy can potentially make a negative contribution to her distress. Women's education, in number of years, and their own previous traumatic life events, as well as veterans' levels of PTSS, were all found to make a direct contribution to females' PTSS and depression symptoms. CONCLUSION: Findings support the theory that although higher empathy can play a positive role in military couples in which the male partner displays symptoms of PTSS symptoms, it can also contribute negatively to her distress. (PsycINFO Database Record

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Parenting, and Marital Adjustment among a Civilian Population.

While psychopathology in general is linked to poorer marital and parental satisfaction, there is a paucity of data regarding these interactions in parents with Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study addresses this issue among a civilian population. Two hundred trauma-exposed parents, mean age of 37.2, 62% mothers, were assessed using self-report questionnaires, for background variables, PTSD symptoms using the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS), depression symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), marital satisfaction (Dyadic Adjustment Scale, DAS-7), parenting behavior (Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, APQ-9), and parenting satisfaction (Parenting Satisfaction Questionnaire). We hypothesized that positive parenting behavior and parenting satisfaction would be negatively correlated with PTSD symptom levels, and that this relationship would be mediated by marital satisfaction; the independent effects of depression on marital and parenting functioning were also examined. Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicated that PTSD was related to poorer parenting behavior (B = 0.089, p = 0.033), depression had a negative impact on parenting satisfaction (B = 0.983, p = 0.003), and marital satisfaction (B = -0.672, p = 0.004), and marital satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between depression and parenting. The findings demonstrated that the effects of PTSD can cast a pall not only over the individual but over the entire family. Interventions are needed to address these issues.

Secondary traumatization of partners of war veterans: The role of boundary ambiguity.

The existing literature has shown that war veterans' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are associated with a higher level of distress in their female partners. However, less agreement exists regarding the sources of this distress and the mechanism by which this process occurs. The current study examined the consequences of Israeli war veterans' PTSD on their female partners, as manifested by the females' PTSD symptoms, mental health status, and functioning, while taking into account females' earlier traumatic events. Using the theory of ambiguous loss, it also suggested boundary ambiguity as a mediating variable by which the PTSD of the male veteran is transmitted to his female partner. Participants were 300 men who had served in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War and their female partners. Results revealed direct associations between males' PTSD and their female partners' PTSD, functioning, and mental health. In addition, boundary ambiguity mediated the association between males' PTSD and females' adjustment. Finally, females' own earlier traumatic events were directly associated with their own PTSD symptoms. Implications of this model for intervention and research are further discussed.