Jarnecke Amber M, Ridings Leigh E, Teves Jenna B, Petty Karen, Bhatia Vickie, Libet Julian
Medical University of South Carolina.
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Couple Family Psychol. 2020 Jun;9(2):73-89. doi: 10.1037/cfp0000135.
The current study uses descriptive data from a sample of Veterans and their partners ( = 97 opposite-sex couples) presenting to a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). The purpose of this investigation was to examine 1) the problems couples face prior to seeking treatment; 2) how long it took couples to seek treatment; 3) what attempts couples made to improve their relationship prior to couples therapy. We also examined how these treatment initiation factors were related to relationship distress and expectations for therapy. Results suggest the relationship problems that precede Veteran couples seeking treatment are varied (e.g., stressors outside of relationship, communication problems, lack of trust) and agreement between partners on type of relationship problem is not predictive of relationship satisfaction, perception of relationship problem severity, nor expectations for therapy. Partners tend to wait approximately 4-7 years before pursuing couples therapy to resolve relational concerns. The length of time partners wait to pursue therapy is positively associated with optimistic expectations for therapy. In addition, prior to treatment initiation, partners tend to make multiple attempts to improve their relationship ( = 1.79 attempts for men; = 2.40 attempts for women) and the number of unique attempts made to improve the relationship is associated with greater distress and more negative perceptions of relationship problem severity. Findings have implications for identifying Veteran couples who may be more or less receptive to intervention and informing the development of a stepped-care approach for couples treatment referral and planning.
本研究使用了来自向退伍军人事务医疗中心（VAMC）就诊的退伍军人及其伴侣样本（97对异性恋夫妇）的描述性数据。本调查的目的是检验：1）夫妇在寻求治疗之前面临的问题；2）夫妇寻求治疗花费了多长时间；3）夫妇在接受夫妻治疗之前为改善他们的关系做了哪些尝试。我们还研究了这些治疗启动因素与关系困扰以及治疗期望之间的关系。结果表明，退伍军人夫妇寻求治疗之前存在的关系问题多种多样（例如，关系之外的压力源、沟通问题、缺乏信任），伴侣之间对关系问题类型的一致看法并不能预测关系满意度、对关系问题严重程度的认知，也不能预测治疗期望。伴侣们在寻求夫妻治疗以解决关系问题之前往往会等待大约4至7年。伴侣等待治疗的时间长度与对治疗的乐观期望呈正相关。此外，在开始治疗之前，伴侣们往往会多次尝试改善他们的关系（男性平均尝试1.79次；女性平均尝试2.40次），为改善关系所做的独特尝试次数与更大的困扰以及对关系问题严重程度的更负面认知相关。这些发现对于识别可能对干预接受程度较高或较低的退伍军人夫妇，以及为夫妻治疗转诊和规划提供分阶段护理方法的发展提供信息具有重要意义。
