The significant others' responses to trauma scale (SORTS): applying factor analysis and item response theory to a measure of PTSD symptom accommodation.

Symptom accommodation by family members (FMs) of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) includes FMs' participation in patients' avoidance/safety behaviours and constraining self-expression to minimise conflict, potentially maintaining patients' symptoms. The Significant Others' Responses to Trauma Scale (SORTS) is the only existing measure of accommodation in PTSD but has not been rigorously psychometrically tested. We aimed to conduct further psychometric analyses to determine the factor structure and overall performance of the SORTS.

Association Between Firearm Purchasing in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Stress, August 2021.

Introduction: Firearm sales and firearm-related injuries and deaths increased during the pandemic. Little is known about motivations for firearm purchasing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the mental health status of first-time purchasers. The purpose of this study was to estimate the association between firearm purchasing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and stress.

Emotion socialization profiles in military parents: Associations with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Military families face many difficulties, including a parent deploying to a warzone and the subsequent risk of returning with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of PTSD are associated with parenting difficulties; however, little is known about how PTSD symptoms may be associated with emotion socialization (ES), a set of processes crucial to children's emotional well-being. This project investigated observed ES behaviors in deployed and non-deployed parents in a sample of 224 predominantly White, non-Hispanic National Guard/Reserve (NG/R) families with deployed fathers, non-deployed mothers, and a child between the ages of 4 and 13.

Exploring the influence of behavioral factors on depression and anxiety scores during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from the Virginia statewide COVIDsmart longitudinal study.

Background: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been growing concern about the declining mental health and healthy behaviors compared to pre-pandemic levels. Despite this, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that have examined the relationship between health behaviors and mental health during the pandemic. In response, the statewide COVIDsmart longitudinal study was launched.

Feeling pressured to talk about trauma: How pressure to disclose alters the association between trauma disclosure and posttraumatic growth.

Talking with others about traumatic experiences (i.e., trauma disclosure) has been associated with increased posttraumatic growth (PTG).

A Digital Health Initiative (COVIDsmart) for Remote Data Collection and Study of COVID-19's Impact on the State of Virginia: Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people's lives beyond severe and long-term physical health symptoms. Social distancing and quarantine have led to adverse mental health outcomes. COVID-19-induced economic setbacks have also likely exacerbated the psychological distress affecting broader aspects of physical and mental well-being.

An exploration of potential pressures to engage in parenting accommodation of PTSD symptoms for military couples.

In the context of service member posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, intimate partners may experience pressure to take over parenting roles and run interference between the service member and the children; that is, to engage in partner accommodation focal to parenting. The current study quantitatively assessed potential pressures to engage in parenting accommodation (PPEPA) in a sample of 207 female partners married to male service members with at least one child in the home and the convergence of PPEPA with service member PTSD symptoms, general partner accommodation, couple functioning, parenting, and child functioning. Partners' reports of PPEPA were associated with higher levels of service member PTSD symptoms and partners' general accommodation of PTSD symptoms.

Longitudinal Associations Among Service Members' PTSD Symptoms, Partner Accommodation, and Partner Distress.

Romantic partners' accommodation of trauma survivors' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (e.g., participating in avoidance and safety behaviors, not expressing one's thoughts and feelings) is a putative mechanism linking PTSD symptoms and partner distress, but this hypothesis has never been empirically tested.

Military-related relocation stress and psychological distress in military partners.

Spouses/partners play a crucial role in providing support to military service members (SMs), maintaining a sense of stability for the family, and supporting the overall mission of the armed forces. However, several aspects of the military lifestyle may impact their own psychological health. Much research has focused on the role of SMs' deployments and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in partners' distress, but no study has yet quantitatively investigated these factors in tandem with the common military life stressor of frequent relocations.

Longitudinal Associations of Global and Daily Support with Marital Status.

The provision and receipt of emotional support demonstrates benefits for relationships; however, little research has investigated how either global or day-to-day spousal support influences marital stability. This project assessed how global perception of support from a partner and daily provision and receipt of emotional support over 1 week contributed to divorce 10 years later, accounting for demographic covariates. There were no significant associations of support variables with future divorce.

Associations Between Service Members' Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Partner Accommodation Over Time.

When service members manifest symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intimate partners may engage in behaviors to accommodate their partners' experiences (e.g., helping service members avoid situations that could make them uncomfortable, not expressing own thoughts and feelings to minimize PTSD-related conflict), which may inadvertently serve to maintain or increase PTSD symptoms over time.

Deployment-related coping strategies in military couples: Associations with relationship satisfaction.

Military deployments are known to be stressful for both military service members (SMs) and their romantic partners. Little is known about how coping strategies used during deployment may relate to one's own and one's partner's relationship satisfaction following deployment. This project investigated the retrospective report of how 154 SMs and their romantic partners coped with deployment-related stress, using previously established coping constructs of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance coping.

Resting high frequency heart rate variability and PTSD symptomatology in Veterans: Effects of respiration, role in elevated heart rate, and extension to spouses.

Heart rate variability (HRV) associated with parasympathetic activity (i.e., cardiac vagal tone) is reduced in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but possible confounding effects of respiration have not been studied sufficiently.

PTSD in veterans, couple behavior, and cardiovascular response during marital conflict.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with strain in marriage and similar intimate relationships, and such difficulties could contribute to associations of PTSD with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Heightened cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) during stressful marital interactions may be an important mechanism in this regard. This study examined dysfunctional behavior during marital conflict as a mediator of the association of PTSD with heightened CVR during these interactions.

Partners' motivations for accommodating posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in service members: The reasons for accommodation of PTSD scale.

Emerging research reinforces the importance of partner accommodation in the interpersonal context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A better understanding of partners' motivations for accommodation is needed to help refine or design interventions that target accommodation. To explore partners' motivations, we created the Reasons for Accommodation of PTSD Scale (RAPS) and evaluated it in 263 female partners of male Army soldiers who had returned from a deployment within the past 2 years.

Everything Here is Fine: Protective Buffering by Military Spouses During a Deployment.

To minimize potential distractions for deployed military service members (SMs), some nondeployed romantic partners have reported engaging in protective buffering, or intentionally withholding information or concerns to protect their deployed partner. This study assessed the associations of protective buffering and psychological distress and marital satisfaction for military couples during and after deployment. Additionally, the study explored whether protective buffering was related to SM reports of being distracted during deployment by family matters.

Supporting a Spouse With Military Posttraumatic Stress: Daily Associations With Partners' Affect.

Service members and veterans (SM/Vs) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can receive significant benefits from social support by a spouse or romantic partner. However, little is known about how providing support impacts partners. This study sought to identify (a) how provision of support is associated with partners' daily negative and positive affect and (b) how SM/Vs' PTSD symptom severity might moderate such associations.

Protective Buffering by Service Members During Military Deployments: Associations with Psychological Distress and Relationship Functioning.

To shield a romantic partner from potential distress due to stressors occurring during deployment, service members (SMs) may engage in protective buffering, or withholding information or concerns from a romantic partner. This study utilized data from 54 couples collected before, during, and after a military deployment to assess whether SMs engaged in protective buffering while deployed and the possible associations between buffering and psychological, relationship, and contextual factors. Only 2% of SMs indicated never engaging in protective buffering during a deployment.

Standardized Assessment of Relationship Functioning in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with PTSD.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is associated with difficulties in intimate relationships, with most prior research examining associations with continuous, single-dimension, and often-unstandardized measures of general relationship quality or aggression. Standardized, well-normed assessments that include multiple couple problem areas could provide more precise information about the presence and specific nature of clinically significant concerns in patient care settings. This investigation aimed to replicate findings regarding increased difficulties in relationship functioning among Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom Veterans with PTSD and their romantic partners, specifically using a standardized assessment that permits identification of cases of clinically significant general couple distress and difficulties across multiple problem areas.

Post-deployment parenting in military couples: Associations with service members' PTSD symptoms.

Severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has been linked to parenting impairments in military service members (SMs), but little is known about how SMs' PTSD is related to their partners' parenting. This study evaluated associations of SMs' PTSD symptoms with parenting indices in SMs and their partners, with additional exploratory analyses of how intrapersonal and interpersonal distress might play a role in such associations. Online self-report measures were completed by 128 SMs who scored >27 on the PTSD Checklist (PCL-M) at baseline and their partners at four timepoints over 1.

Psychological well-being in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: Risk and protective factors.

Objective: Much research on military veterans has focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other negative outcomes, with few studies of positive outcomes. This study focused on psychological well-being (PWB) in relation to PTSD symptoms and the additional risk factors of sleep problems and depression, as well as a protective factor, self-regulation.

Method: Two hundred thirty-eight student veterans completed questionnaires online, with 115 completing follow-up questionnaires 2 months later.

Daily Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Accommodation and Relationship Functioning in Military Couples.

Romantic partners' accommodation of trauma survivors' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (e.g., taking on tasks, survivors avoid participating in social withdrawal) is associated with lower relationship satisfaction for both partners and survivors.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and relationship functioning: A comprehensive review and organizational framework.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with impairments in relationship functioning. Beyond the abundance of research that has demonstrated this basic link, more recent research has begun to explore possible mediators and moderators of this association. The present paper reviews and synthesizes existing literature in the context of an overarching organizational framework of potential ways in which PTSD impacts relationship functioning.

PTSD and relationship satisfaction in female survivors of sexual assault.

Objective: Intimate relationships are critical to posttrauma functioning and recovery. The vast majority of research focusing on PTSD and relationship functioning has focused exclusively on male combat veterans, from whom female sexual assault survivors may differ in critical ways. This study investigates the strength of the association between PTSD symptoms and relationship satisfaction, as well as the role of three interpersonal processes (sexuality, communication, and hostility) in female sexual assault survivors.