Accommodation of posttraumatic stress symptoms: A scoping review of the literature

Social support is protective in the recovery from mental health diagnoses. However, well-intended support can also interfere with treatment, as in the case of accommodation, when a support person changes their behaviors to alleviate a patient's distress. This paper describes a scoping review of the research literature regarding posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and accommodation, conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items extension for Scoping Review Guidelines (PRISMA-ScR). A total of 26 articles were included in the review. Designs and settings were mixed, but most studies examined accommodation by female adult intimate partners of male military members, veterans, and first responders with PTSS. Most participants were White. Accommodation was typically associated with negative relationship outcomes, and some couples treatments (e.g., cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy interventions) were associated with improvements in PTSS accommodation. Future work on PTSS accommodation should prioritize recruiting more diverse participants (i.e., gender, race, ethnicity, military status, types of support people). In addition, researchers should continue to examine accommodation as a mediator or moderator variable. Further examination of accommodation and PTSS may provide helpful insights into the involvement of support people in treatment to increase treatment effectiveness.