title: Female partners' estimations of male veterans' combat-related PTSD severity.
abstract: This study investigated concordance between male Vietnam veterans' and their female partners' reports of veterans' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Fifty male Vietnam combat veterans and their partners rated the severity of their own PTSD symptoms. Also, partners rated the severity of veterans' symptoms. Results indicated modest levels of agreement in reports of symptom presence/absence. Partner ratings of veterans' PTSD severity were positively correlated with veteran reports and partners' own self-reported PTSD symptoms. After controlling for veterans' self-reported symptoms, partners' symptoms significantly predicted their estimates of veterans' avoidance symptoms, but not veterans' reexperiencing or hyperarousal symptoms. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Boston Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Massachusetts 02130, USA.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Riggs
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Weathers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*