The quality of the intimate relationships of male Vietnam veterans: Problems associated with posttraumatic stress disorder

TLDR

The study examined the quality of intimate relationships among male Vietnam veterans. The study compared 26 heterosexual couples with a veteran having PTSD to 24 couples without PTSD. More than 70% of PTSD couples reported clinically significant relationship distress—about twice the rate of non‑PTSD couples—and this distress correlated with PTSD severity, especially emotional numbing, leading to greater intimacy problems and increased separation/divorce attempts.

Abstract

Abstract This study examined the quality of the intimate relationships of male Vietnam veterans. Heterosexual couples in which the veteran had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 26) were compared to couples in which the veteran did not have PTSD ( n = 24). Over 70% of the PTSD veterans and their partners reported clinically significant levels of relationship distress compared to only about 30% of the non‐PTSD couples. Relationship difficulties appeared to encompass a wide range of areas, with PTSD veterans and their partners reporting that they had more problems in their relationships, more difficulties with intimacy, and had taken more steps toward separation and divorce than the non‐PTSD veterans and their partners. The degree of relationship distress was correlated with the severity of veterans' PTSD symptoms, particularly symptoms of emotional numbing. Research and clinical implications of the results are discussed.