Vietnam combat veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Analysis of marital and cohabitating adjustment.

Abstract

Help-seeking Vietnam combat veterans with a diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD; n = 21) were compared with help-seeking combat veterans without evidence of PTSD (n = 18) and help-seeking veterans with minimal combat experience (n = 2 l) on indexes of cohabitating and marital adjustment. Also, premilitary adjustment was assessed and validated by relative's reports. The PTSD group reported significantly more problems than did the other groups with self-disclosure and expressiveness to their partners, physical aggression toward their partners, and global relationship adjustment. The PTSD group did not differ from the other groups on measures of intimacy and affectionate behavior. The findings were not attributable to premilitary adjustment, response style, or demographic factors. The results were compared with findings of previous studies and discussed in terms of their implications for assessment, treatment, and future research. The research project was supported by Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Grant 26 to Edward M. Carroll. Special thanks are due to Robert Liberman, Byron Wittlin, and Seymour Feshbach for their continuing support and assistance during the project. The authors would also like to express their appreciation to Kelly Cline, Arnetta Counts, Phyllis Prado, Jill Bruchner, and Penny Felix for their help in data reduction and manuscript preparation. Requests for reprints should be sent to Edward M. Carroll, Brentwood Veterans Administration Medical Center (691/Bi 17),

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