Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Attachment, and Intimate Partner Violence in a Military Sample: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

Contemporary military service members and their families face unique stressors that impact the quality of romantic relationships. With divorce rates among military couples on the rise, the authors focused on the relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder, intimate partner violence, and attachment style. Subjects consisted of 20 heterosexual couples, where the male was the service member. Researchers used a series of path models to determine if a link existed between these variables. Results highlight the important role of spouses in the service members' experience of posttraumatic stress disorder, intimate partner violence, and attachment. Implications for research and working with military couples are discussed.

Keywords:

• military couples
• military deployment
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• attachment
• intimate partner violence

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the Kathryn Louise Chellgren Endowment, University of Kentucky.