Abstract
IntroductionIt has been reported that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with secondary spouse/partner (S/P) emotional distress and relationship violence.ObjectiveTo investigate the relationships between PTSD, S/P emotional distress and relationship violence among police recruits using a prospective design.MethodsTwo hypotheses were tested in 71 S/Ps: (1) Police officer reports of greater PTSD symptoms after 12 months of police service will be associated with greater secondary trauma symptoms among S/Ps; (2) Greater secondary trauma symptoms among S/Ps at 12 months will be associated with S/P reports of greater relationship violence.Methods71 police recruits and their S/Ps were assessed at baseline and 12 months after the start of police officer duty. Using linear and logistic regression, we analyzed explanatory variables for 12 month S/P secondary traumatic stress symptoms and couple violence, including baseline S/P variables and couple violence, as well as exposure and PTSD reports from both S/P and officer.ResultsS/P perception of officer PTSD symptoms predicted S/P secondary traumatic stress. OS/P secondary trauma was significantly associated with both total couple violence (.34, p = .004) and S/P to officer violence (.35, p = .003).ConclusionsAlthough results from this relatively small study of young police officers and their S/Ps must be confirmed by larger studies in general populations, findings suggest that S/P perception of PTSD symptoms may play a key role in the spread of traumatic stress symptoms across intimate partner relationships and intimate partner violence in the context of PTSD.
Highlights
It has been reported that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with secondary spouse/partner (S/ P) emotional distress and relationship violence
Conclusions: results from this relatively small study of young police officers and their S/Ps must be confirmed by larger studies in general populations, findings suggest that S/P perception of PTSD symptoms may play a key role in the spread of traumatic stress symptoms across intimate partner relationships and intimate partner violence in the context of PTSD
Two hypotheses were tested in 71 S/Ps: (1) Greater PTSD symptoms among officers after 12 months of police service will be associated with greater secondary trauma symptoms among S/Ps; (2) Greater secondary trauma symptoms among S/ Ps at 12 months will be associated with S/P reports of greater difficulties on measures of relationship violence
Summary
It has been reported that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with secondary spouse/partner (S/ P) emotional distress and relationship violence. The term ‘‘secondary trauma’’ refers to the manifestation of Posttraumatic Stress (PTSD) symptoms among contacts of traumatized individuals, such as family members. Figley describes secondary trauma as arising from an empathic relationship with the traumatized individual through which the close contact is affected by the trauma and manifests symptoms very similar to PTSD. The current paper focuses on secondary trauma, a concept which should not be confused with related concepts such as vicarious trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue. Vicarious trauma is sometimes used interchangeably with secondary trauma, but is applied most commonly to PTSD symptoms among healthcare providers working with traumatized individuals [6]. Compassion fatigue has been described as a specific type of secondary trauma stress related to the care-giver ‘‘burnout’’ [8]
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