PTSD symptoms, disclosure, and relationship distress: explorations of mediation and associations over time

Emotional numbing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are negatively associated with relationship satisfaction in combat veterans and their romantic partners. Many speculate that one mechanism of this association may be decreased disclosure by veterans, but previous studies lacked appropriate data to test this hypothesis. In a sample of 224 OIF/OEF-era National Guard service members (SMs) and 214 of their romantic partners, we measured SMs' PTSD symptoms. Four to six months later, we assessed both partners' reports of SMs' emotional disclosure and both partners' relationship satisfaction (83 SMs and 91 partners completed Time 2). In a path analysis, SMs' emotional numbing was negatively associated with their later relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, SMs' emotional numbing was negatively associated with both partners' reports of SMs' emotional disclosure. Finally, SMs' emotional numbing exerted significant or nearly significant indirect effects on both partners' relationship satisfaction via decreased emotional disclosure. The findings demonstrated the importance of accounting for both partners' perceptions when studying couple functioning in the context of PTSD or treating PTSD via conjoint intervention.