Publication year
2011
Citation Title
Associations among experiential avoidance, couple adjustment, and interpersonal aggression in returning Iraqi War veterans and their partners
Journal Name
Jornal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Journal Volume
79
Issue Number
4
Page Numbers
515-520
DOI
10.1037/a0023929
Summary
Avoidance of painful emotions can have negative impacts on romantic relationships. To better understand the potential impact, military couples' reports of avoidance of painful negative emotions, aggression, and relationship adjustment were examined. Findings suggest there may be a stronger link between avoidance of painful emotions and relationship adjustment among Service members than among their spouses and partners.
Key Findings
Soldiers, but not their partners, who reported that they avoid painful and negative emotions were more poorly adjusted in their relationships.
For both Soldiers and their partners, more avoidance of negative emotions was not associated with psychological aggression.
For Soldiers, but not their partners, more avoidance of negative emotions was associated with more physical aggression.
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop workshops to help Service members and their partners learn alternative ways to cope with emotions besides avoidance
Offer training for professionals who work with military families on how best to refer couples with histories of aggression to supportive services
Host activities for military families that teach youth healthy strategies to manage negative emotions
Implications for Policy Makers
Support opportunities for outreach activities to support Service members who have difficulty with emotion regulation
Encourage professionals to participate in trainings about how to address and help prevent issues of domestic violence in military families
Recommend collaborations among military-based and community-based programs to help with initiatives aimed at enhancing the well-being of military families
Methods
Participants were recruited from a longitudinal study of Army National Guard Soldiers who were married or cohabitating during a redeployment briefing 1 month before returning from deployment.
Data were collected from self-report measures and structured interviews that participants completed privately, as well as behavioral observation tasks that were completed together.
Behavior observation tasks were used to elicit avoidant behavior among the participants. Surveys were used to collect data on emotional avoidance, relationship adjustment, and interpersonal aggression.
Participants
Participants were male National Guard Soldiers (n = 49) and their female civilian partners. Average age of the Soldiers was 35 years (SD = 7.39) while the partners’ average age was 34 years (SD = 8.43).
Most of the couples were married (98%) and were White (92% of the Soldiers and 96% of the partners). Seventy-five percent of the couples had children.
Ninety-six percent of the Soldiers were of enlisted rank and 90% worked full or part-time. Seventy percent of the partners worked full or part-time.
Limitations
There was not a description of the type of the behavior observation tasks that were used in this study, which limits the ability to evaluate the nature of those tasks.
It is unclear at what point during post-deployment the data collection occurred, and this makes it difficult to compare these findings with other studies of aggression and adjustment during post-deployment.
The sample size was relatively small and limits the generalizability of the findings to the broader military population.
Avenues for Future Research
Replicate this study with female Service members and their partners
Use varying behavior observation tasks that attempt to elicit more breadth of negative emotions
Examine associations between avoidance of negative emotions and parenting behaviors
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of experiential avoidance (EA) in relationship adjustment, psychological aggression, and physical aggression among military couples. Method: The sample was composed of 49 male soldiers who recently returned from deployment to Iraq and their female partners. As part of a larger study, participants completed self-report measures of emotional avoidance (EA, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire_II), relationship adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale), and conflict (Conflict Tactics Scale_2). Data from men and women were simultaneously modeled with the actor_partner interdependence model. Results: Men's EA was associated with decreases in relationship adjustment and increases in physical aggression perpetration and victimization. For women, relationship adjustment was not associated with EA, but greater EA among women was associated with decreased relationship adjustment for male partners. Associations among EA and psychological aggression were nonsignificant. Conclusions: These data provide evidence that EA may play a critical role in the relationships of couples following deployment and highlight the importance of targeting EA in couple therapy.
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