title: Combat disclosure in intimate relationships: mediating the impact of partner support on posttraumatic stress.
abstract: Although previous research has shown a negative relation between partner support and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity among military service members following deployment, the mediating mechanisms of this effect remain poorly understood. This study examined willingness to disclose deployment- and combat-related experiences as a mediating mechanism underlying the linkage between intimate partner support and PTSD symptom severity in a sample of 76 U.S. Air Force service members deployed to Iraq in a year-long, high-risk mission. Airmen's reports of overall social support, and partner support specifically, significantly predicted concurrent postdeployment PTSD symptom severity. Subsequent mediation analyses demonstrated that level of disclosure of deployment- and combat-related experiences by service members to their intimate partners accounted for a significant portion of the relation between partner support and postdeployment PTSD symptom severity. The level of Airmen's disclosure was also inversely related to levels of relationship distress. Implications of these findings for prevention and intervention strategies and for further research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4235, USA. balderrama-durbin@neo.tamu.edu
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Balderrama-Durbin
authors.forename: Douglas K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cigrang
authors.forename: G Wayne
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Talcott
authors.forename: JoLyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tatum
authors.forename: Monty
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cassidy
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sonnek
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Heyman
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Smith Slep
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D030881:Disclosure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult