Prospective effects of PTSD and attachment on subjective age among veterans and their wives.

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to assess the trauma-induced experience of subjective aging for trauma survivors and their spouses in relation to the bidirectional effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attachment insecurities. One hundred and seventy Israeli combat veterans from the 1973 Yom Kippur War and their wives reported their subjective age (SA), 35 and 42 years after the war (T1, T2). We conducted actor-partner interdependence cross-lagged models between spouses' SA and examined the associations between T1 PTSD, T1 attachment anxiety and avoidance, and spouses' T2 SA, while controlling for chronological age. The results indicated that the wives' T1 SA positively contributed to the veterans' T2 SA and the veterans' T1 SA positively contributed to the wives' T2 SA. Veterans' T1 attachment avoidance prospectively contributed to their higher T2 SA. Wives' PTSD severity and attachment anxiety at T1 prospectively contributed to their higher T2 SA. Wives' T1 attachment avoidance contributed to their lower T2 SA. Wives' attachment anxiety and health problems at T1 prospectively contributed to veterans' reports of higher T2 SA. This study emphasizes the dyadic processes that underly trauma-related aging. The impact of dyadic processes should not be overlooked in research and clinical interventions. Specifically, effective trauma interventions during old age should take into account the impact that spouses have on trauma survivors' mental states and aging processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).