Publication year
2011
Citation Title
Relationships between soldiers' PTSD symptoms and spousal communication during deployment.
Journal Name
Journal of Traumatic Stress
Journal Volume
24
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
352-355
DOI
10.1002/jts.20649
Summary
The frequency of communication between male Army Soldiers and their at-home spouses during a recent deployment was examined to consider the relationship between communication and post-deployment posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Among Soldiers with high levels of marital satisfaction, more frequent communication predicted lower levels of PTSD after homecoming.
Key Findings
Most Soldiers reported using phone calls, instant messaging, and emails with their spouses daily. They received letters and care packages on average 1-2 times a month.
More frequent communication predicted lower PTSD symptoms, but only among Soldiers with higher levels of marital satisfaction.
For Soldiers reporting high levels of marital satisfaction, having more frequent delayed communication with spouses during deployment (e.g., letters, care packages, email) was related to higher marital satisfaction.
Regarding Soldiers with lower levels of marital satisfaction, more delayed communication during deployment was associated with more PTSD symptoms.
Implications for Program Leaders
Publicize the availability of resources for couples managing PTSD, including support groups, behavioral health programs, and couple/family activities
Offer support groups for military spouses to allow for the exchange of peer support during deployment and reintegration
Create classes for military spouses, offering them information and skills about how to be supportive to their deployed Service member
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage public awareness campaigns like the National PTSD Awareness Day
Support marriage enrichment programs that bolster couples’ relationship satisfaction and communication
Ensure that military installations offer information technology support to at-home spouses during deployments, such as maintaining secure phone and computer connections
Methods
Soldiers were recruited from a previous randomized clinical trial studying a marriage education program.
Participants completed self-report surveys regarding PTSD, combat exposure, and marital satisfaction.
In addition, participants indicated how often they used six communication modalities with their spouses while deployed (email, letters, phone calls, care packages, instant messaging, and instant messaging with video).
Participants
Active Duty male, married Army Soldiers (N = 193) who had returned from a combat deployment within the last year participated.
Most participants were either White (76%), Latino/Latina (12%), or Black (7%). Age of participants was not reported.
Among participants, the average marriage length was 5.83 years (SD = 4.59).
Limitations
Data are cross sectional which prohibits the ability to make causal conclusions.
Communication reports may have been affected by retrospective biases.
Some relevant variables were not assessed, such as who initiated the communication, content of the communication, and duration of the interactions.
Avenues for Future Research
Follow couples over time to examine the relationship between marital communication and PTSD symptomatology
Examine how the communication with at-home spouses was helpful to the deployed Service member qualitatively
Elicit the at-home spouses’ perspectives on the frequency, quality, and impacts of communication during deployment
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Social support, including support from spouses, may buffer against posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The current study assessed whether the frequency of spousal communication during a recent deployment, a potentially important source of support for soldiers, was related to postdeployment PTSD symptoms. Data came from 193 married male Army soldiers who returned from military deployment within the past year. For communication modalities conceptualized as delayed (i.e., letters, care packages, and e-mails), greater spousal communication frequency during deployment was associated with lower postdeployment PTSD symptom scores, but only at higher levels of marital satisfaction ( p = .009). At lower marital satisfaction, more delayed spousal communication during deployment was associated with more PTSD symptoms ( p = .042). For communication modalities conceptualized as interactive (i.e., phone calls, instant messaging, instant messaging with video), the same general direction of effects was seen, but the interaction between communication frequency and marital satisfaction predicting PTSD symptoms did not reach significance.
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