Department of Psychology, George Mason University, United States.
Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, United States.
J Anxiety Disord. 2020 Apr;71:102199. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102199. Epub 2020 Feb 11.
Emerging research reinforces the importance of partner accommodation in the interpersonal context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A better understanding of partners' motivations for accommodation is needed to help refine or design interventions that target accommodation. To explore partners' motivations, we created the Reasons for Accommodation of PTSD Scale (RAPS) and evaluated it in 263 female partners of male Army soldiers who had returned from a deployment within the past 2 years. Soldiers completed a measure of military-related PTSD, and partners completed a measure of accommodation and the newly created RAPS. Factor analysis of the RAPS yielded a clear, 3-factor solution suggesting the following reasons for accommodating: (1) Relationship & Obligation, or a desire for positive relationship outcomes and a sense of duty or responsibility; (2) Helping Recovery, or a belief that avoidance was helpful for the service member; and (3) Conflict Avoidance/Helplessness, or a desire to avoid conflict or simply not knowing what else to do. Analyses of these factors in relation to soldiers' PTSD clusters indicated that hyperarousal symptoms were uniquely associated with relationship and obligation motivations, re-experiencing symptoms were uniquely associated with helping recovery motivations, and emotional numbing symptoms were uniquely associated with conflict avoidance and helplessness motivations. Furthermore, conflict avoidance and helplessness accounted for the greatest variance in partners' accommodation frequency and distress. Assessment of partners' accommodative behaviors, as well as their motivations for engaging in accommodation, may aid in treatment planning and enhance outcomes for couples in which one individual has PTSD.
新兴研究强调了在创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的人际背景下，伴侣之间相互适应的重要性。为了帮助完善或设计针对适应行为的干预措施，需要更好地了解伴侣适应的动机。为了探讨伴侣的动机，我们创建了 PTSD 适应原因量表（RAPS），并在 263 名男性陆军士兵的女性伴侣中进行了评估，这些士兵在过去 2 年内曾参加过一次部署。士兵们完成了一项与军事相关的 PTSD 测量，而伴侣们则完成了一项适应行为和新创建的 RAPS 测量。RAPS 的因子分析得出了一个清晰的三因素解决方案，表明有以下适应原因：（1）关系和义务，即对积极关系结果的渴望和责任感；（2）帮助康复，即相信回避对服务成员有帮助；（3）冲突回避/无助，即避免冲突或只是不知道还能做什么。这些因素与士兵 PTSD 集群的关系分析表明，过度警觉症状与关系和义务动机有关，再体验症状与帮助康复的动机有关，情感麻木症状与冲突回避和无助的动机有关。此外，冲突回避和无助感解释了伴侣适应频率和困扰的最大差异。对伴侣适应行为及其适应动机的评估，可能有助于治疗计划，并增强夫妻双方中一方患有 PTSD 的治疗效果。
