1. Coping with PTSD after OEF/OIF:
Perspectives of Young Military
Couples
Argosy University
Roneé Simmons
PSY 492
2. Introduction
As many combat veterans return from war in Iraq
(Operation Iraqi Freedom) or Afghanistan
(Operation Enduring Freedom), they may suffer
from the events and trauma that they have seen
and experienced while in combat. Furthermore,
they may develop PTSD due to the severity of
their trauma and experiences. The effects of these
soldier’s PTSD may have some form of impact on
their significant others and on their relationship.
Therefore, research about the affects of PTSD on
military couples is needed.
3. Literature Review
• How do young military couples cope with the
effects of PTSD on their relationship after
returning home from OEF/OIF?
• The literature that has been researched on this
topic only looks at certain aspects of military
couples, more specifically it looks at the
perspective of the military wife (Dekel, Goldblatt,
Keidar, Solomon, & Polliack, 2005).
4. Literature Review- cont.
• Educating Military Couples about PTSD
▫ In a qualitative study that was conducted on the awareness of
PTSD in veterans, female spouses and intimate partners of
OEF/OIF veterans “had very little knowledge about the
symptoms of PTSD” (Buchanan, Kemppainen, Smith,
MacKain, & Cox, 2011, pg. 749).
▫ Some type of formal education system should be put into
place so that young military couples can be educated about
PTSD before, during, and after periods of deployment.
▫ Young couples need to be able to understand what PTSD is
and learn how to cope with the effects of PTSD on their
relationship.
5. Literature Review- cont.
• Relational Functioning of Military Couples upon
Returning Home
▫ Upon returning home, couples must rebuild their
relationship due to the fact that they have both changed
during the deployment, however, PTSD can make it
hard to reconnect with a significant other.
▫ When emotional involvement or intimacy starts lacking,
then couples may become less satisfied and it may
negatively affect the relationship.
▫ Roles in the relationship may be adversely affected due
to PTSD.
6. Literature Review- cont.
• Couples Therapy for PTSD
▫ Couples therapy treatment would be very beneficial to
relational functioning.
▫ Couples will be able to learn strategies and techniques
that will allow them to better their relationship.
▫ Findings suggest that if a partner is involved in the
veteran’s treatment process, then this can help improve
the patient outcome of their PTSD symptoms (Sautter,
Lyons, Manguno-Mire, Perry, Han, Sherman, Myers,
Landis, & Sullivan, 2006).
7. Conclusion
After reviewing all of these articles, there is found
to be correlations among the studies. Couples
therapy with a focus on behavior seems to be
conducive to helping couples cope with PTSD. Also,
when the female partner shows support for her
spouse/ significant other and is loyal to them throughout
their battle with PTSD, then the veteran is likely to
recover from their symptoms. Lastly, when avoidance
symptoms are dealt with related to PTSD, a new found
hope is possible for the military couple’s relationship.
8. References
• Buchanan, C., Kemppainen, J., Smith, S., MacKain, S., & Cox, C.
W.,N.C.U.S.N.(R.C.). (2011). Awareness of posttraumatic stress
disorder in veterans: A female Spouse/Intimate partner
perspective. Military Medicine,176(7), 743-743-751. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/876042789?accountid=348
99
• Dekel, R., Goldblatt, H., Keidar, M., Solomon, Z., & Polliack, M.
(2005). Being a wife of a veteran with posttraumatic stress
disorder*. Family Relations, 54(1), 24-24-36. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/213934052?accountid=34899
• Erbes, C. R., Polusny, M. A., MacDermid, S., & Compton, J. S. (2008).
Couple therapy with combat veterans and their partners. Journal of
Clinical Psychology, 64(8), 972-983. doi:10.1002/jclp.20521
9. Reference
• Marx, B. P. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorder and operations
enduring freedom and iraqi freedom: Progress in a time of
controversy. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(8), 671-671-673.
doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.02.004
• Sherman, M. D., Zanotti, D. K., & Jones, D. E. (2005). Key elements in
couples therapy with veterans with combat-related posttraumatic
stress disorder. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(6),
626-626-633. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.36.6.626
• Khaylis, A., Polusny, M. A., PhD., Erbes, C. R., PhD., Gewirtz, A., &
Rath, M. (2011). Posttraumatic stress, family adjustment, and
treatment preferences among national guard soldiers deployed to
OEF/OIF. Military Medicine, 176(2), 126-126 -131. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/852353141?accountid=34899
Editor's Notes
Adversities and challenges can arise in almost any intimate relationship. When the couple is young and coping with the effects of PTSD due to recent military deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, then the challenges can become even harder, especially because PTSD is more likely to be prevalent in service members returning home from current military deployments (Marx, 2009). Research on this specific population is essential because being able to understand and help these military service members and their significant others during a time when emotional support is critical will allow for these couples to move forward and establish healthy relationships despite the effects of PTSD.
With the knowledge that is gained from this literature, an understanding into the lives of young, military couples coping with PTSD is sought to be understood. Specifically, literature about the effects of PTSD on relational functioning, treatment of PTSD through couples therapy, and level of knowledge of PTSD known by significant others is important as it seeks to conceptualize how these military couples are able to cope.
If the symptoms are not known, then how can a partner determine whether or not their boyfriend/ girlfriend is suffering from PTSD? In many instances, physical symptoms such as nightmares and disrupted sleep patterns were observed and thought of to be the most common potential PTSD symptom. Other symptoms like patterns of behavior or changes to daily routines were also observed (Buchanan, et. al., 2011). Information that is acquired with regards to this disorder is usually obtained through word of mouth, maybe by friends, family members, or other active duty military couples, or through media outlets.
According to Erbes et. al. (2008), “Avoidance behaviors, such as distancing from others, emotional numbing, or being excessively involved in productive (e.g., work) or nonproductive (e.g., video games) activities to cope with trauma- related symptoms, are thought to be particularly harmful to relationship functioning” (pg. 975). While couples are getting to know each other again, they must reestablish a pattern of communication and readjust to being together (Erbes, Polusny, MacDermid, & Compton, 2008).
Khaylis, Polusny, Erbes, Gewirtz, & Rath (2011) administered self- reports to 100 National Guard soldiers who had been previously deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and they found that these service members felt as though family- based or couples therapy was needed in regards to treatment of PTSD. Distress due to the effects of PTSD on the relationship is experienced by both the veteran and their partner (Sherman, Zanotti, & Jones, 2005) and avoidance seems to play a huge role in relationship problems (Erbes, 2008).
