The contribution of captivity and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to marital adjustment of Israeli couples

Rachel Dekel, Guy Enosh, Zahava Solomon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study examined marital adjustment and relations among couples where husbands had been a prisoner-of-war (i.e., POW) and couples where husbands were veterans, but not POWs. The study also examined the relative contribution of the husband's post-traumatic stress disorder (i.e., PTSD) and POW experience to both spouses' marital adjustment. Results from 157 couples (85 former POWs and spouses as well as 72 veterans but not POWs and their spouses as controls) indicated that former POW couples had lower marital adjustment, sexual satisfaction, and self-disclosure, and higher verbal abuse than the control couples. Captivity indirectly influenced the husband's marital adjustment through his PTSD. In turn, PTSD had an indirect effect on both spouses' marital adjustment, fully mediated through marital relations variables.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)497-510
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Social and Personal Relationships
Volume25
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Bibliographical note

doi: 10.1177/0265407508090870

Keywords

  • Marital adjustment
  • POWs
  • PTSD
  • Self-disclosure
  • Sexual satisfaction
  • Verbal and physical aggression

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Communication
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Sociology and Political Science

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