Secondary traumatization of wives of war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

To determine the symptoms of secondary traumatic stress and possible influences of demographic and socioeconomic factors on the occurrence of secondary traumatic stress in wives of war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The study included 56 wives of war veterans diagnosed with PTSD and treated at the Center for Psychotrauma in Rijeka, Croatia. A short structured interview was conducted with each woman to collect demographic and socioeconomic data. The women independently completed an adapted 16-item version of Indirect Traumatization Questionnaire to determine the presence of secondary traumatic stress symptoms, which corresponded with PTSD symptoms as defined by the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders.

Out of 56 veterans' wives included in the study, 32 had six or more symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, whereas only 3 had none of the symptoms. Twenty-two women met the diagnostic criteria for secondary traumatic stress. Women with secondary traumatic stress were married longer than those without it (mean+/-standard deviation, 19.1+/-9.1 vs 13.2+/-7.8 years, respectively; P=0.016). Eleven of 22 women with secondary traumatic stress and 8 of 34 women without secondary traumatic stress were unemployed (P=0.05).

As more than a third of war veterans wives met the criteria for secondary traumatic stress, any treatment offered to veterans with PTSD must address the traumatization of their family.