Resilience and Knowledge of PTSD Symptoms in Military Spouses

The spouse of a military service member is in a special position to understand the behaviors of a service member better than anyone. These individuals live with the military members and are able to detect changes in behavior and increased stress reactions. Yet, there is limited published research focusing on spouses’ levels of awareness of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD symptoms. This study was conducted to explore 2 areas of interest. The research team first wanted to determine if military spouses with knowledge of PTSD signs and symptoms demonstrated a higher level of resilience, and second, if military spouses with more access to helpful resources, for those experiencing symptoms of PTSD, demonstrated a higher level of resilience. A total of 127 spouses completed an online survey to assess the level of resilience possessed by military spouses in relation to their knowledge of PTSD symptoms and their access to resources. Resilience was measured by using the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Results showed that as the knowledge of PTSD symptoms and access to helpful resources increased, the ability to be resilient is increased by over 1.5 times. The study collects information from this important, hard to reach population and offers to fill a knowledge gap on this topic.