title: PTSD symptoms and marital adjustment among ex-POWs' wives.
abstract: This study prospectively assessed the implications of war captivity and former prisoners of war's (ex-POWs) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD trajectory on their wives' marital adjustment, adjusting for their secondary traumatization (ST). Results show that marital adjustment of the wives of ex-POWs with PTSD (N = 66) was lower compared to wives of ex-POWs (N = 37) and combat veterans (N = 55) without PTSD symptoms. Investigating the possible mechanism underlying the lower marital adjustment, via a mediating model, indicated that husbands' PTSD symptoms mediated the association between captivity and the wives' marital adjustment. Moreover, husbands' PTSD trajectories assessed over 17 years were implicated in their wives' marital adjustment; wives of ex-POWs with chronic PTSD reported lower marital adjustment compared to wives of resilient ex-POWs. The substantial novelty was revealed in prospective deterioration found in dyadic adjustment among wives of ex-POWs with delayed PTSD, but not for wives of chronic or resilient ex-POWs. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma, Tel Aviv University.
authors.forename: Yafit
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Mental Health, University of Haifa.
authors.forename: Talya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma, Tel Aviv University.
authors.forename: Zahava
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Solomon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000068376:Compassion Fatigue / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012917:Social Adjustment; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology; D014857:Warfare